With corn prices down and fuel demand up, including exports, “(o)perating profits for many ethanol makers more than doubled in the second quarter compared with last year,” says the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “It’s shaping up to be one of the best years ever for the ethanol business.” The newspaper says operating income more than doubled at Valero Energy, one of the largest ethanol makers. Green Plains Renewable Energy, the No 4 producer, “is projecting a record year,” said the Star Tribune, and Archer Daniels Midland, the No 2 maker, “reported stellar second-quarter results.”
“Just two years ago, the nation’s 212 ethanol plants, including 21 in Minnesota, saw profits take a free fall as the price of corn climbed in some regions to $8 per bushel. More than 20 U.S. ethanol plants were shuttered, though many have reopened, including a plant in Buffalo Lake, Minn., earlier this month,” said the newspaper.