Ethanol plant
Ingredion Inc. has stopped ethanol production at its manufacturing facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, making it the latest company to cut ethanol output after the coronavirus pandemic choked demand for fuel, Reuters reported.
The coronavirus pandemic battered the U.S. ethanol industry, at one point halving its production capacity. Production capacity as of Jan. 1, 2020 was 1.13 million barrels per day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Though the Cedar Rapids facility will continue to manufacture industrial starch, Ingredion decided to stop ethanol production because of current market conditions, Becca Hary, a company spokeswoman, said.
Margins to refine ethanol in the Corn Belt have fallen over the last two months, sinking to negative-9 cents, near the lowest since April, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.
Reporting by Stephanie Kelly, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips
