Minnesota ethanol industry brings USD 5bn to economy

Oct 12, 2012 - The ethanol industry in Minnesota accounted for USD 5 billion (EUR 3.9bn) of economic activity last year, the state's agriculture department says in a report out this week.

Minnesota has 21 ethanol plants with a combined capacity of 1.1 billion gallons (4.2 billion litres), making it the fifth largest ethanol producing state in the country following Iowa, which ranks first, Nebraska, Illinois and Indiana.

In 2011, the industry supported over 12,600 jobs in Minnesota and added USD 912 million to the value of corn, the state's largest agricultural crop. Additional revenue of USD 2.07 was generated for every bushel of corn processed into ethanol, according to the report.

"While there have been ups and downs in the ethanol industry, the fact is it's a huge advantage for us to keep more of the value of the corn we produce rather than ship it to another state or country as a raw commodity," said the report's author, Minnesota Department of Agriculture economist Su Ye. A total 42% of Minnesota's corn is exported and 39% is processed, Ye said, while the US as a whole sells abroad 12% of its corn and processes 50%.

Over 1.2 billion bushels of corn were harvested in Minnesota last year and 440 million bushels were used for the production of ethanol and its co-product, distillers dried grains.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.773)

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