More than 150 business-to-business meetings between domestic ethanol producers and international buyers from five countries took place this week at the Renewable Fuels Association’s National Ethanol Conference in San Antonio.

The meetings were scheduled as part of the Department of Commerce’s International Buyer Program (IBP), a joint government-industry effort that increases U.S. export sales by promoting international attendance at major U.S. conferences. For the third consecutive year, RFA was awarded a grant through IBP to promote these business-to-business meetings during the conference.

The five countries represented during IBP were India, Mexico, Colombia, South Korea, and Jamaica.

In 2017, the U.S. ethanol industry exported a record 1.4 billion gallons of fuel to more than 60 countries, providing consumers around the globe with the lowest-cost, cleanest source of octane. For the third year in a row, Brazil and Canada were the top two markets for U.S. exports, receiving roughly 60 percent of 2017 shipments. India, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, Peru, and South Korea were other leading destinations in 2017.

“IBP is vitally important to help connect U.S. ethanol sellers and foreign buyers from new and existing foreign markets, and this year’s event was a rousing success,” said RFA General Counsel Ed Hubbard. “We greatly appreciate the Department of Commerce helping to stimulating business-to-business meetings at the NEC, the largest U.S. ethanol policy and marketing conference. Programs like this are an essential tool to help promote fair and free biofuels trade for consumers throughout our world,” he added.