Brazil to Defend Ethanol at U.N. Summit

According to Reuters, Brazil is the world's largest ethanol exporter and a pioneer in sugar-cane based biofuels, making it a target of critics who say ethanol is behind increases in world commodity prices.

Lula said the U.N. summit on food security which begins on Tuesday would give Latin America's biggest economy an opportunity to shape the debate about biofuels -- and hopefully win over some sceptics.

"This gathering that the (U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation) is promoting will be a great opportunity for Brazil," Lula told reporters in Rome ahead of the event.

"I'm convinced that we're at the beginning a debate. ... It's up to Brazil, a centre of excellence in ethanol production, to prove that it's fully possible to make ethanol output compatible with the production of food."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has set up his own task force to find answers to the food security crisis, is expected to hold private talks with Lula in Rome on Monday ahead of the June 3-5 summit.

Most of the anti-biofuel ire has been aimed at U.S. production of maize-based ethanol which has diverted large quantities of that staple into fuel.

Critics say in Brazil, the production of ethanol is pushing cattle ranchers and farmers deeper into the Amazon rainforest. Lula rejected such claims and said countries in Europe and elsewhere had no right to make policy suggestions on the Amazon.

Lula is a longtime proponent of cane-based ethanol, saying it could help combat global warming and allow poor nations to offset soaring oil prices that he blamed on market speculation.

He said Brazil was proof that countries did not need to chose between food or fuel. With cane-based ethanol, Brazil has increased its production of biofuels at the same time that it raised its farming output.

"We Brazilians are convinced that the world might resist, but it is going to have to assume the responsibility of using other fuels," Lula said.

"We have had very productive relations with Brazil on biofuels. ... Brazil has very effective sugar cane-based fuel programme which can be enormously helpful for the Caribbean," she told reporters on Sunday.

View the Reuters story by clicking here.

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