Imports of undenatured ethanol fell 2.91% on the month to comprise 54,686 cu m of the August total, with Brazil the biggest supplier at 60.95% of the undenatured portion, followed by the US at 15.25%.
Brazil was also the biggest supplier of undenatured ethanol to Japan over January-August, accounting for 44.57% of the total 447,587 cu m, followed by Pakistan at 25.07%.
Japan's imports of denatured ethanol from Brazil for bio-ethyl tert-butyl ether production totaled 6,995 cu m in August, down 9.13% on year. There were no imports in July.
Japan has approved US corn-based ethanol as feedstock for ETBE production since April. Prior to that, only Brazilian cane-based ethanol was used.
Japanese refiners launched ETBE-blended gasoline in 2011 as part of Tokyo's commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to cut GHG emissions by 6% from 1990 levels over 2008-2012.
| Japan's ethanol imports: | |||||
| (Unit: cu m) | |||||
| Product | Aug-18 | Jul-18 | M-o-M change | Jul-17 | Y-o-y change |
| Denatured | 6,995 | 0 | NA | 7,697 | 0.00% |
| Undenatured | 54,686 | 56,323 | -2.91% | 44,621 | 22.56% |
| Total | 61,681 | 56,323 | 9.51% | 52,318 | 17.90% |
| Japan's undenatured ethanol imports: | ||
| (Unit: cu m) | ||
| Country | Jan-Jul 2018 | % of Total |
| Brazil | 199487 | 44.57% |
| Pakistan | 112198 | 25.07% |
| USA | 71312 | 15.93% |
| Guatemala | 43177 | 9.65% |
| Others | 21413 | 4.78% |
| Total | 447587 | |
| Source: Trade Statistics of Japan | ||
