The quantities established in the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosul, announced last week, may raise the exported value of sugar and ethanol to the bloc to more than R $ 2 billion per year, against R $ 600 million in last year. The number released by the Sugarcane Industry Union (Unica) amounts to 7% of total resources generated by the country with total exports of products in 2018 and takes into account that the quantities established are fully met. According to the entity, the treaty between the blocks defines that the import tax on the volume of 180K tons of sugar and 562 million liters of ethanol for industrial use per year is zero. “An additional 250 million liters are charged differently depending on the application – 0.064 euro per liter for non-denatured (all-purpose) ethanol and 0.03 euro per liter for denatured ethanol (alcohol containing substances to prevent the use in beverages, food or pharmaceuticals), “Unica said. Until the current agreement, Brazil’s sugar was in the CXL quota of 412K tons and in the Erga Omnes of 290 thousand tons, both with an intracota tariff of 98 euros per ton. In the case of ethanol, a tariff of 0.19 euro per liter was applied for undenatured ethanol and 0.10 euro per liter for denatured ethanol, which practically prevented access to the market. “The agreement was a great achievement for the country and (Unica) congratulates the Brazilian diplomacy, highlighting, in particular, the performance of the Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ernesto Araújo. This is an important step and may lead to greater trade opening in the future, “the entity said.
Source: Canal Rural