2007-12-10 19:44:10 -

Brazil's largest ethanol producer Cosan is actively looking to start producing ethanol in the United States. That's what Marcos Lutz, Chief Commercial Officer told Ethanol Statistics in a interview this week.

In September this year, Cosan's Chief Financial Officer Paulo Diniz was quoted saying that Cosan would start taking its first international steps. At the time, three options were presented.

The first would be to invest in an ethanol dehydration plant in the Caribbean, following in the steps of companies like Brazil's Crystalsev and U.S. giant Cargill. The second option would be to install a distillery in Mexico, which has free access to the U.S. market through NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) from January 2008. The third and last option would be to invest directly in the United States.

Mr. Lutz confirms all three options as viable but doesn't consider investments in CBI countries as Cosan's first international step. 'CBI is a minor investment, which involves about 10 million dollars. What were talking about is actually having a plant or two in the United States. To have domestic supply there as well-.

Mr. Lutz made his comments in an interview with Ethanol Statistics on the strategy of Cosan in the next few years. Besides Cosan's plans to enter the U.S. market, Mr. Lutz also discussed the attractiveness of greenfields and brownfields versus acquisitions, its involvement in the construction of a dedicated ethanol pipeline and possible plans to expand to other regions than the United States.

The entire interview, titled ‘Cosan's Strategy for Future Growth', can be found on

www.ethanolstatistics.com/Expert_Opinions/Cosans_Strategy_for_Fu ..