The rapid growth of Brazil’s corn ethanol sector has become essential to meeting rising demand for renewable fuel under a new government mandate to increase ethanol content in gasoline. While ethanol production from sugarcane—historically Brazil’s main source—has stagnated in recent years, corn-based ethanol output has surged, Reuters reported. According to the sugar and ethanol industry group UNICA, corn ethanol production in Brazil's centre-south region rose nearly 31% in the 2024/25 cycle, reaching 8.19 billion litres. Meanwhile, sugarcane ethanol output has remained relatively flat since the start of the decade, despite Brazil being the world’s largest producer of it. Without this production increase, implementing the policy wouldn’t have been possible,"aid Guilherme Nolasco, president of the corn ethanol industry group UNEM.