Delta raises bets in segment
Valor Econômico
The new rule of the Brazilian National Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuel Agency (ANP) benefits, besides the plants, companies willing to negotiate ethanol and that are not necessarily connected to producers or distributors. Delta Energia, company created as an electric energy trader in the free market that now gets ready to move on over other commodities, is one of these groups excited with the new rule.
Delta has already taken its first steps in the ethanol sector by investing in storage and tanking this year in Ribeirão Preto (SP), main sugarcane producing center of the country. A set of four tanks acquired by the company has capacity to store 41 million liters of ethanol purchased from several plants.
The company has an expansion project to increase the capacity to 61 million liters until next year - the equivalent to the annual production of a medium size plant. Until the announcement of the new rule, Delta was restricted by the law to sell its stocks to the foreign market. "A total of 30 million liters have already been sold to Japan, South Korea and other countries of Europe", says Rubens Parreira, partner of the company.
But with the possibility of negotiating with national distributors, Delta's perspective grows a lot. Parreira tells that since Brazil currently exports only 15% of the ethanol production, the fact the trader can negotiate inside the country with several distributors multiplies its potential nearly six times. The demand for alcohol fuel in the country is every time more intense. Between January and August this year, the monthly increase was of nearly 25%, with a consumption of 2 billion liters.