Novozymes sees Brazil biofuels exports doubling

Mon Jun 1, 2009 7:06am EDT
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Novozymes, the world's leading maker of industrial enzymes, said on Monday it sees Brazil's ethanol exports doubling by 2020 as the country ramps up production of next generation bio-ethanol.
The company said in a statement it estimated Brazilian export revenues from ethanol would rise to $4 billion annually.
Novozymes, which sells enzymes that turn crops such as corn, soya and sugarcanes into bio-ethanol products, expects to win a market share above 50 percent in the next-generation Brazilian ethanol market, company spokesman Johan Melchior said.
Novozymes' estimates for the Brazilian market are based on a report, which Novozymes Chief Executive Officer Steen Risgaard will present later Monday at an Ethanol Summit in Sao Paolo.
Risgaard told Reuters separately the company expects it can secure a price of at least 20-60 cents per gallon (3.79 liters) for the company.
The company said in a statement it expects the total annual ethanol output in Brazil in 2020 to be between 4.6 and 8.2 billion liters.
"This is a very conservative estimate," he said. "Brazil could easily get there sooner, and the sooner they get there, the stronger a chance they have to capture the European ethanol market."
Novozymes' technical enzymes business, which includes fuel enzymes, generated a total revenue of 2.48 billion Danish crowns ($466.1 million) in 2008.
The company expects to launch its first enzyme for industrial scale production of second generation bioethanol in 2010.
($1=5.320 Danish Crown)
(Reporting by Peter Levring)