THE ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF ETHANOL PRODUCTION
FROM SUGAR IN THE UNITED STATES
July 2006
This report was done through a cooperative agreement between the Office of Energy Policy and
New Uses (OEPNU), Office of the Chief Economist (OCE), U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA), and Louisiana State University (LSU). Principal authors of this report are Dr. Hossein
Shapouri, OEPNU/OCE, USDA and Dr. Michael Salassi, J. Nelson Fairbanks Professor of
Agricultural Economics, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, LSU
Agricultural Center.
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The Economic Feasibility of Ethanol Production from Sugar in the United States
Page
Summary and Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
List of Tables and Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
The U.S. Ethanol Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
Price Outlook for Ethanol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
Feedstock Available for Ethanol Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
Byproducts of the Ethanol and Sugar Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Starch and Sugar Content of Grains and Sugar Crops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
Feedstock Production Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Ethanol Yields from Alternative Feedstocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Net Feedstock Costs per Gallon of Ethanol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .