Reuters: Regulatory News: Cargill CEO says US ethanol mandate may need to be 'addressed'

Reuters: Regulatory News Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Cargill CEO says US ethanol mandate may need to be 'addressed' Jul 31st 2012, 12:55 July 31 | Tue Jul 31, 2012 8:55am EDT July 31 (Reuters) - The chief executive of global grains trading powerhouse Cargill said Tuesday the U.S. government's mandate to use more than a third of the domestic corn crop to produce the fuel ethanol "needs to be addressed" lest the drop in global output put a "disproportionate" burden on livestock companies and consumers. While stopping short of an outright call to reduce the Renewable Fuels Standard that cattle and poultry firms blame for helping fuel the surge in corn prices, CEO Gregory Page said on CNBC that "there is a methodology to reduce the amount of biofuel" through a combination of agencies and controls. Page cited the example of Brazil, a long-time proponent of sugar-based ethanol, which he said had adjusted its biofuel requirements last year as a drought curtailed its crop. The worst U.S. drought in more than half a century has reduced the corn crop by as much as a quarter compared to spring forecasts, and has renewed the debate over a federal policy to use a growing amount of corn as motor fuel. Page said Cargill expected global corn production to fall about 3 to 4 percent below trendline norms in the coming crop year, forcing consumers to cut back. "If all of that (demand rationing) is only on livestock or food consumers, it really makes the burden disproportionate. What we see are 3 or 4 percent declines in supply lead to 40 to 50 percent increases in prices, and I think the mandates are what drives that price elasticity which I think needs to be addressed," he said on the business news channel. "There are mechanisms in place for a combination of agencies, there are some controls. There is a methodology to reduce the amount of biofuels that is mandated in the U.S.," he said. On Monday, U.S. livestock groups appealed to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to curb or suspend the mandate that requires 9 percent of the U.S. gasoline supply to be made up of ethanol for the coming year.\ The EPA did not grant a previous waiver from Texas Gov. Rick Perry in 2008. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions