China demonstrates interest in advancing the biofuels agenda during a delegation visit to Embrapa Agroenergia.

Brazilian biofuel production and related research were among the topics discussed between the Embrapa Agroenergia research team and members of the Chinese delegation from the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development (IAED) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). On Tuesday, July 28th, Shiping Mao, Lin Zhang, Jingfei Qian, and Xinru Han, professors from the Institute, visited the Unit and discussed the current context of both countries in this area, highlighting the relationship between food and energy production. Data related to the growth of corn production in Brazil over the last five years were presented, emphasizing the use of this raw material in ethanol production. Today, the main source remains sugarcane; however, mainly due to the off-season crops, which can reach up to two per year, corn has gained strength in this scenario. According to researcher Thaís Salum, in 2025, Brazil produced 38 billion liters of ethanol, of which 9.4 billion liters were made from corn, representing almost a quarter of the total production. This is due to the increase in corn production in recent years, mainly second-crop corn. In the last 20 years, corn production in the country has more than tripled. Despite the increase in production, the researcher showed that the planted area only increased 1.7 times in the same period, demonstrating that we have the potential to increase corn ethanol production without needing large expansions in the cultivated area. Other topics were also part of the discussion, such as governance, public policies for biofuels and for reducing carbon emissions, the Brazilian energy matrix, and the production of biodiesel and advanced aviation fuels (AAF). Regarding the latter, researcher Guilherme Botelho highlighted the research efforts in new alternative raw materials, such as canola and macauba oils. In China, according to delegation representatives, there is still variation in the ethanol blending rates in gasoline (2 to 10%) from province to province, demonstrating a less planned scenario than in Brazil. According to Professor Xinru Han, the Chinese government has been seeking strategies to guarantee the country's food security, which means that biodiesel production in China today is still based on the use of cooking oil. 

This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.