Some ethanol producers worldwide said demand is up for their products because customers are stockpiling hand sanitizer as the coronavirus outbreak worsens reports agweb.
Minneapolis-based Cargill, which produces and commercializes ethanol, said on Monday that demand for its denatured ethanol in Europe has doubled since last month.
Tereos, one of the largest producers of bioethanol alcohol in the European Union says it also saw a spike in demand and had an order for over 500,000 gallons of additional denatured alcohol in the past few days.
Toiletries and cosmetics, including hand sanitizer, account for nearly a quarter of U.S. end-markets for industrial alcohol according to the most recent data available from the Renewable Fuels Association.