High Feedstock Prices Push Ethanol Profit to Change Rapidly
In December, the feedstock corn and acetic acid prices trended up rapidly, pushing up the ethanol production cost. Currently, the high-end corn prices in Shandong rise to RMB 2,680/mt, hitting an all-time high. In addition, the cost of synthetic ethanol also increased rapidly, and some synthetic ethanol producers turned profits into losses. In the long term, the ethanol cost should be focused on.
In Jilin, the corn prices rose to RMB 2,500/mt, so the ethanol profit dropped from RMB 616.25/mt in November to RMB 120/mt. Similarly, the ethanol profit in Henan was around RMB 250/mt, calculated at the feedstock price of RMB 2,560/mt.
At present, the synthetic ethanol industry suffers the heavies cost pressure. From early November to December 8, the acetic acid prices in East China rose by RMB 77% and was close to RMB 5,000/mt, and the cost at synthetic ethanol plants increased by RMB 3,000/mt. Calculated at the anhydrous ethanol price, the profit at synthetic ethanol plants declined from RMB 2,000/mt in November to RMB -100/mt. Currently, some acetic acid hydrogenation-based ethanol plants reduce operating rates slightly.
