A tanker carrying around 10,000 mt (12,680 cu m) of ethanol loading in the west coast of Central America is due for arrival in the European ports of Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp by late May, according to a shipping report by broker SPI Marine.
Ethanol supply from countries such as Peru, Guatemala and Costa Rica have duty free access to the EU market as part of the bloc's initiatives to promote economic development in what it calls "vulnerable" countries.
Tanker Nordic Oslo's next destination is Puerta Morales, in Costa Rica, according to the latest shipping information available on marinetraffic.com.
Interest in ethanol shipments from Central America has grown in recent months after the EU slapped anti-dumping duties on US cargoes in February, making supply from there too expensive for European buyers.
The European ethanol spot price was assessed at Eur682.25/cu m ($883.51/cu m) FOB Rotterdam Friday, the highest in over seven months but still below the level required to attract cargoes from either the US or Brazil, the world's largest exporters, sources said.
Peruvian ethanol producer Maple Energy Plc supplied around 8,600 cu m of ethanol to Mitsui's European subsidiary during January and February, according to the company's website.
Maple entered into a sales agreement with Mitsui in 2010 to provide all of its fuel ethanol supply to the trader on a FOB Paita basis for a period of five years, excluding a 20% share that could be sold domestically.
Ethanol sold by Maple is priced on a net-back basis based on Mitsui's resale agreements to customer plus a marketing fee, according to the Peruvian producer.
Ethanol supply from Central America includes both industrial and fuel grade product, industry sources said.
Arbitrage trades from the region to Europe are complex to complete due to expensive freight rates and limited vessel availability, one trader said.
Ethanol in Central America is produced from molasses from sugarcane.
