WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD-TV) — Trade and new market opportunities took center stage at this year’s Global Ethanol Summit (GES). Leaders from around the world discussed the future of ethanol and other corn-based products and said breaking down barriers to international trade remains a key focus.
“Everybody’s talking about trade right now, and you know, it’s easy to talk about tariffs, but I’ve been learning a lot from other countries about the importance of non-tariff trade barriers that are out there,” said Jacob Knaebel, Director of Marketing Development for the Missouri Corn Growers Association. “These are just obstacles that, whether it be regulations or different inspections and whatnot, pose serious issues for U.S. products coming into their products, or maybe even vice versa. So, these are conversations that help bring those obstacles to light, so that we might be able to take those messages back to the decision-makers, the regulators, or even lawmakers, in order to overcome those.”
The summit also explored new opportunities for ethanol outside its traditional use as a fuel, including cleaner, safer household applications.
“I guess another key takeaway is just the different opportunities that, you know, maybe the average farmer doesn’t think about,” Knaebel said. “We talked about fuel ethanol quite a bit, but we had some speakers from Nigeria who were talking about the ever-increasing need for ethanol for clean cooking within their country. You know, they’re using charcoal or coal for a lot of their cooking needs inside, and they’re looking for alternatives to that which would be able to meet their cooking needs and offer more safe product.”
More than 40 different countries attended the Global Ethanol Summit, representing the ethanol and agricultural sectors.
