“Brazilian ethanol production will not displace large quantities of cattle into the Amazon region because it will harm the country’s beef export.” That is the opinion of José Roberto Moreira, Chairman of CENBIO, the Brazilian Reference Center on Biomass, in an interview with Ethanol Statistics this week.
“I suspect that most of the cattle ranching will always take place in the southeast of Brazil, because of the Aftosa (foot and mouth disease). The EU and the United States will not import meat that comes from areas such as the Amazon, because those areas are not disease free. The economic benefit of raising cattle in the Amazon is therefore very small, making the southeast relatively more attractive. But it is out of question that some leakage will occur”, said Mr. Moreira.
Mr. Moreira’s point of view seems to be substantiated by this week’s news that the European Union may resort to a ban on Brazilian meat imports if the Brazil does not improve food safety standards.
The entire interview, titled ‘The Facts, Myths and Future of Brazilian Ethanol (1)’, can be found
here. It is the first of two articles in which Mr. Moreira discusses the sustainability criteria for ethanol production in more detail. In the second article, Mr. Moreira focuses on the best areas to expand ethanol production in Brazil.
The report’s table of contents, list of tables and figures and introduction is available