Ethanol is being used as a fuel in the transportation sector in Brazil and in a few other countries.
It started to be used in significant amounts in Brazil in a blend with gasoline in 1975 and as a
neat fuel in automobiles in 1980. The first use continues and all gasoline sold in the country
contains 24% ethanol. The second use showed a rapid evolution, covering more than 90% of the
new cars produced in 1989; after a shortage of supply in that year the number of new neat ethanol
automobiles decreased very fast, reaching less than 1000 cars by 1997-98. By 1999 a modest reverse
of this trend had occurred. Considering both types of use, ethanol demand has stabilized since
1995, but at present some decline in demand is foreseen for new neat ethanol cars for several years
in the first decade of the 2000s.
The government has an interest in