Ethanol Prices Hit Record Low, Industry in “Dire Straits”

Ethanol prices have hit a record low in recent days and the Renewable Fuels Association says many ethanol plants could be on the verge of shutting down.

Kelly Nieuwenhuis, chairman of the board of the Siouxland Energy ethanol plant at Sioux Center, Iowa, says the industry is in “dire straits”. He says Siouxland Energy directors will be meeting later this week to discuss the situation.

“Things have changed drastically since the end of February, so we’ll see how we’re sitting,” Nieuwenhuis says. “We’re running at 50 percent and we have been since we restarted back in October. I don’t know where we’re going to go from here right now. We’ve got to find out the information and go from there.”

Nieuwenhuis farms near Primghar in northwest Iowa.

Source: AgriMarketing