US Ethanol Exports Run 12% Ahead of Record 2025 Pace, With India Among Top Markets
US ethanol exports through June 2026 were 12 percent higher by volume and 21 percent higher by value than the record pace of 2025, according to a USDA report. Shipments reached 8.4 billion litres worth $4.7 billion in 2025, and the American share of world ethanol exports climbed to 64 percent as Brazil's fell to 12 percent. India remains a leading destination, buying 711 million litres of industrial ethanol in 2025.
United States ethanol exports are running well ahead of last year's record, according to a September 2026 report from the US Department of Agriculture cited by Rural Voice. Through June 2026, export volumes were 12 percent higher than the record pace set in 2025, while export value rose 21 percent. The wider increase in value than in volume points to firmer unit prices alongside larger shipments.
The USDA attributes the gain to three factors: rising global ethanol demand, changes to blending rules in importing countries, and reduced export competition from Brazil.
Two consecutive record years
US ethanol exports set a record for the second year in a row in 2025, rising to 8.4 billion litres with a value of $4.7 billion. In 2024 exports were 7.4 billion litres worth $4.3 billion, meaning volumes grew by one billion litres in a single year while value added $400 million.
Alongside India, the USDA lists Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Colombia and the Philippines among the leading importing markets for US ethanol.
India buys industrial ethanol, not fuel
US industrial ethanol exports to India reached a record 718 million litres in 2024 and eased slightly to 711 million litres in 2025. India does not allow imported ethanol to be used as fuel, so American volumes serve industrial and chemical applications rather than the national blending programme.
Indian fuel ethanol consumption more than tripled between 2021 and 2025, and the average blending rate rose from about 8 percent to 20 percent. Expanded domestic output, including diversification of feedstocks, increased the supply available to meet the E20 target by November 2025. The USDA notes that as a large share of domestic production moved into fuel blending, less was left for industrial and chemical users, and US exports helped cover the shortfall.
Brazil's export share halves
The United States accounted for 64 percent of global ethanol exports in 2025, up from 48 percent over 2020-23, while Brazil's share fell from 23 percent to 12 percent over the same comparison. Strong domestic consumption absorbed most Brazilian output, and in August 2025 the country raised its mandatory gasoline blend from E27 to E30, adding further to internal demand.
The USDA describes Brazil as the main uncertainty for 2026. Corn-based ethanol capacity there is expanding quickly, with an estimated additional 3 billion litres due by the end of 2026, which could lift Brazilian exports and increase competition for US suppliers.
New mandates create fresh demand
Vietnam introduced a nationwide E10 requirement in June 2026, and ethanol consumption in the country this year is projected to be more than eight times the 2025 level. US ethanol exports to Vietnam reached 73 million litres in the first six months of 2026, eight times the full-year 2025 volume.
The USDA identifies shifts in biofuel policy, trade agreements, energy prices and geopolitical developments as the main factors that will shape US ethanol exports through the remainder of 2026.
