Bioenergy and Trade

The State of Food and Agriculture 2008 explores the implications of the recent rapid growth in production of biofuels based on agricultural commodities. The boom in liquid biofuels has been largely driven by policies in developed...

In 2004 ITABIA drafted, on behalf of the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea (MATTM), a comprehensive report on “Biomass for Energy Production and the Environment”, which not only provided statistical data on...

Today’s food and financial crises have, in tandem, triggered a new global land grab. On the one hand, “food insecure” governments that rely on imports to feed their people are snatching up vast areas of farmland abroad for their...

The growing importance of biofuels is a major challenge and an opportunity for the sector. Biofuels production has grown from 1 million hectares seven years ago to 25 million hectares today. If petroleum prices remain high and...

It is difficult to know how much ethanol will be needed in countries that already adopted blend mandates but it is estimated at least 1 billion gallons.Brazil already replaces 20–25% of its gasoline with ethanol, and the...

America has one-third of the world’s automobiles (230 million) and uses twenty-five percent of the world’s oil. The American economy depends on liquid transportation fuels, principally derived from petroleum, to power our cars,...

This report examines the history and status of the biofuel industry in Malaysia, focusing on government support policies. It forms part of a multi-country effort by the Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) to characterize and...

Government support of biofuel production in OECD countries is costly, has a limited impact on reducing greenhouse gases and improving energy security, and has a significant impact on world crop prices, according to a new study of...

The report is published annually, as part of a continuing effort to promote informed discussion of emerging market and policy issues. This edition of the Agricultural Outlook offers an assessment of agricultural markets covering...

For the first time since 1973, the world is being hit by a combination of record oil and food prices. Such record oil and food prices are a destabilizing element for the global economy because of their potentially severe growth,...