U.S. Secretary of Agriculture: Corn ethanol will not cause food shortages

Although oil prices have soared recently and the U.S. government has increased the expected price increase of food, the US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said that converting more corn into ethanol will not cause food shortages.

Vilsack said: "We have no reason to slow down the rate of development of corn ethanol, and the United States can do all this."

According to the US Department of Agriculture, up to 5 billion bushels of corn will be used for ethanol production in the next marketing year beginning on September 1 this year, setting a new record. This year, food prices are expected to rise 3.5% this year. Two times the expansion rate.

However, former U.S. President Clinton stated that using food to make fuel is a naked transaction. It not only affects the food supply of other countries, but also affects the decision-making of the global food growing area.

Clinton said: "The United States must achieve energy independence, but it cannot be at the expense of food riots. The more biofuels the United States makes, the less food we put into the international market." Clinton suggested annual review of food supplies to ensure "reasonable The price provides good food," maximizing energy independence and preventing climate change.

But Vilsack said that biofuels are an important part of the U.S. energy security and can also promote rural employment and income. In 2007, the United States passed legislation to ensure a rising share of ethanol in the automotive fuel market. In 2015, ethanol production is expected to reach 5.7 billion liters.

Vilsack said that American farmers can grow enough corn to meet the needs of food, fuel, livestock feed, and exports. This year, the US corn production is expected to hit a record high of 13.73 billion bushels, an increase of 10% from the previous year. Reuters said that despite this, the supply of corn will remain tight within the next year or two.

Analysts believe that biofuel manufacturing has reduced US grain exports and stimulated food production in other regions. But biofuels are a controlled market where food cannot compete fairly with fuel.

Dan Glickman, the agriculture minister during the Clinton administration, said that "overall, ethanol has a positive impact on the economy" and that it is only a small part of the rise in food prices. Glickman said that Clinton did not recommend quantitative allocation of food.

In this marketing year (as of August 31), the United States is expected to convert 4.95 billion bushels of corn to ethanol. Joe Glauber, chief economist at the Ministry of Agriculture, said that due to the slight saturation of the ethanol market, there will be little increase in corn consumption in the next year.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has already approved the E15 decree that allows cars and light trucks manufactured since 2000 to use gasoline mixed with 15% ethanol. Although the House of Representatives voted against the EPA's implementation of the E15 decree, the Senate has not yet taken action.

Corn producers and ethanol trading groups said that Clinton’s view was wrong. They believe that there is a large amount of fallow farmland in the United States that can grow biofuel crops without harming the environment. Oil is a bigger factor in the rise in food prices.

Due to the turmoil in the Middle East, oil prices soared to over US$100 per barrel on February 24, and US crude oil prices closed at US$97.28 per barrel, setting the highest price since September 2008. (One dollar is about 6.61 yuan***).