SÃO PAULO, OCTOBER 27, 2014 – Elizabeth Farina, CEO of the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA), said today that she hopes to have a direct exchange with newly re-elected President Dilma Rousseff, thereby allowing Rousseff to fulfill the commitment she made in her first speech after re-election to be the President of the dialogue, of change and one who will support producing sectors, especially industrial sectors.

Farina emphasized that a direct and recurring dialogue is a long-standing demand of the sugar-energy sector that is ready to get started. “We’ve always had discussions with various ministers, but what we need is to look forward, maintain a direct dialogue with the president and know what is going to change with respect to the government’s energy policy, in particular as it pertains to ethanol and bioelectricity,” Farina said.

Farina added that she hopes Rousseff will provide clarity for the sugar-energy sector and stressed the fundamental importance of defining the role reserved for ethanol and bioelectricity in Brazil’s energy matrix, and of proposing actions consistent with that vision. “Appropriately valuing clean and renewable energy can be achieved by the taxation of polluting fossil fuel and energy. The CIDE tax on gasoline can serve this role,” Farina said.

Farina added that she believes some questions relating to ethanol have relevance even in these final months of the year considering the mention in Rousseff’s speech of stimulating a dialogue and a partnership with the productive forces of the country even before the start of her next term on January 1, 2015.

“It’s fundamental that the sector know what will be the system for establishing prices in the fuels matrix generally and which rules will be established. These rules should be consistent with the objective of the clear participation of ethanol in the energy matrix,” Farina said, adding that the sector reacts when a stimulus is received.

According to Farina, one of the elements that has been discussed is the recognition of the positive attributes of ethanol. “Fossil fuels are important, but they bring nefarious consequences such as the emission of greenhouse gases and pollution. This is not reflected in the price at the pump. For this reason, the CIDE tax on gasoline needs to be re-established,” Farina said.

Farina cited raising the anhydrous ethanol blend rate in gasoline and conversations with the automobile industry, which she said needs to perfect the motors of flex-fuel vehicles, as well as other measures that are being studied by Brazil’s federal government.

According to a study conducted by the University of São Paulo, the gross dollar amount moved by the sugar-energy chain in the 2013/2014 season surpassed US$100 billion, and the sector had a GDP during that same season of US$43 billion. According to UNICA, the receipts generated by sugar and ethanol exports reached US$14 billion in 2013.

The producing side of the sugar-energy sector directly employs more than 1 million workers. That doesn’t take into account the number of indirect jobs related to the industry, and there are more than 16,000 establishments tied to the production of sugar and ethanol. Just in the state of São Paulo, which is responsible for more than 60% of Brazil’s sugarcane production, more than 450 of the state’s 645 municipalities grow sugarcane.