Ethanol is more advantageous than gasoline in two states of the country, according to the latest data released by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).
After falling for 22 consecutive weeks, since the beginning of October, alcohol has accumulated six weeks of highs, adding up to a 12.46% increase in this period, when the average price in the country went from R$ 3.37 to R$ 3.79.
The advantage —when the price of ethanol is equivalent to 70% of gasoline— is observed in Paraíba and Mato Grosso, in the week between November 6th and 12th.
In the Northeast state, alcohol is found, on average, at R$ 3.32, while gasoline at R$ 4.80.
In the Midwest state, a liter of ethanol costs R$3.49 against R$5.02 for fossil fuel.
At the end of September, the greater competitiveness of ethanol was recorded in seven states and the Federal District. At the time, Goiás, Bahia, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and the DF were also on the list.
In São Paulo, for example, the largest ethanol producer in the country, the advantage is just above the 70% limit, with an average of R$ 3.69 for alcohol against R$ 5.03 for gasoline.
The states with the worst competitiveness are Amapá, where gasoline is even cheaper, and Rio Grande do Sul.
Director of the Brazilian Center for Infrastructure, energy consultancy, Pedro Rodrigues, says that the increase may be due to the law of supply and demand.
According to him, the value of alcohol is also influenced by that of gasoline, which registers the fifth week in a row with an increase, with an average of R$ 5.02 in Brazil.
“The ethanol market is the same as gasoline. When gasoline is more expensive, people tend to use ethanol and you have an increase in demand, which can cause an increase in price”, he added.
Research by the Pontifical Catholic University and former director of the ANP, David Zylbersztajn, also points out that ethanol is influenced by the price of another commodity: sugar, whose raw material is also sugarcane.
“There is the issue of the harvest, the international price of sugar, the international price of ethanol. What could be happening is you have a growth in external demand”, he pointed out.
The director of Economics and Sectorial Intelligence of the Union of the Sugarcane and Bioenergy Industry (Unica), Luciano Rodrigues, reports that, in recent weeks, there has been an upward movement in the mills motivated by the approach of the off-season, a period in which there need to carry stock for domestic supplies in the coming months.
However, on November 11th, data from the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea-USP) indicated a reduction of R$ 0.04 per liter, a drop of 1.17% in São Paulo mills.
“This number interrupts the upward movement that had been observed in previous weeks and this increase that was happening was due to a series of factors, among which we can mention the rains that impacted a large part of the producing region in recent months and made it difficult to operationalization of the harvest, the expectation that there was a possible correction in the domestic price of gasoline to align with the international price and the approach of the off-season”, he explained.
Source: CNN Brasil
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