Governors' Biofuels Coalition

The Energy Information Administration should move “as expeditiously as possible” to include ethanol export figures in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report, according to a letter sent to the agency Tuesday by the Renewable Fuels Association.

Scott Richman, chief economist for the group, said in a letter to EIA Administrator Joseph DeCarolis that the report’s exclusion of such figures comes as “a glaring omission” that provides an incomplete picture of the market and leaves ethanol buyers and sellers at a “distinct disadvantage” compared to their peers who deal in petroleum-based fuels. The Weekly Petroleum Status Report provides data on U.S. ethanol imports, but not exports — with such figures reported only on a monthly basis by U.S. Customs. The need for weekly figures on ethanol exports has become increasingly important this past year, Richman said in the letter.

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