Average Ethanol Price at Pumps Drops in 22 States: ANP Report

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Average ethanol prices at service stations dropped in 22 states and the Federal District (DF) in the week ended on Saturday, May 9th, compared to the preceding period, according to a survey by the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP) compiled by AE-Taxas. However, the biofuel price increased in four states.

At the filling stations surveyed by the ANP throughout the country, the average price of ethanol dropped 3.30 percent in the week compared to the preceding week, from R$2.667 to R$2.579 a liter. In relation to the last 30 days, the drop amounts to 15.14 percent.

In São Paulo, the main producing and consumer state with more stations assessed, the average price of ethanol hydrate was R$2.373, down 3.34 percent from the previous week (R$2.455) and 15.55 percent compared to 30 days ago. In Goiás, the biofuel recorded the highest price increase in the week, at 3.24 percent. The highest drop of 8.97 percent was recorded in Tocantins.

In the monthly comparison, ethanol prices dropped in 25 states and the Federal District. There was no comparison in Amapá. The state that registered the highest drop in the monthly comparison was Mato Grosso, with a 25.35 percent drop in the price of ethanol.

The minimum price for ethanol recorded last week was R$1.799 per liter in São Paulo and the lowest average state price, R$2.373, was also recorded in São Paulo. The maximum individual price of R$4.999 per liter was recorded at a filling station in Rio Grande do Sul. Acre recorded the highest average price, at R$3.982.

Competition

Average ethanol prices remained advantageous compared to gasoline in only four Brazilian states – Goiás, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, and São Paulo – all major biofuel producers. The ANP survey considers that sugarcane ethanol, due to its lower calorific power, should have a limit price of 70 percent of the gasoline sold at the stations to be considered advantageous.

In Mato Grosso, ethanol is sold, on average, at 63.20 percent of the price of gasoline; in Goiás at 69.34 percent; in Minas Gerais at 65.64 percent; and in São Paulo, parity was 64.12 percent.

In the average of the stations surveyed in the country, the ratio is 67.46 percent between the average prices of ethanol and gasoline. Gasoline was more advantageous in Amapá, with parity of 123.08 percent for the price of ethanol.

Source: Estadão Conteúdo