Three ships carrying ethanol were heading to China from the U.S. Gulf Coast, three trade sources told Reuters on Monday, in a sign that exports of the fuel were sharply increasing from the United States to the country.
The shipments may surpass the total amount of U.S. ethanol that China imported last year, a positive development for the U.S. ethanol industry, which has seen decreased demand because of the coronavirus pandemic and the U.S.-China trade war.
The ships each have a capacity of around 30,000 tonnes, or about 240,000 barrels of ethanol, the sources said, though the exact amount of the renewable fuel onboard was not immediately clear. It was also unclear when the cargoes would arrive in China, which buys U.S. ethanol for fuel to blend with gasoline. One source said at least two of the tankers left at the end of February.
The three cargoes should be among vessels booked earlier, and more were expected to get shipped to China in the coming months, three Asia-based traders…