As this fall’s corn crop continues to shrink, the debate regarding the government mandate for corn-based ethanol has expanded internationally. For example, this week the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said the United States should consider lowering its targets for the use of corn in ethanol. The mission of OECD, headquartered in Paris, France and established in 1961, is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. OECD has 34 member countries that span the globe.
OECD sees the drought as the worst in more than 50 years. The current situation is not yet comparable with that of 2007-08 when supply tensions across all major staple crops sparked rioting in some countries, but the threat to this year’s severe shortfall in the U.S. corn harvest would put a spotlight on demand for ethanol, Ken Ash, head of trade and agriculture at OECD, said.
“What I would like to see is where we are a little further along in the growing season, I don’t mean in October but I mean in the middle of August, that’s a real good moment to ask that question and to think about whether the situation is such that a relaxing of the mandates makes sense,” he told Reuters news service.
