The Editor, Sir:

The points in Zia Mian's column published in The Sunday Gleaner on June 8 should be clarified. First, there is no need for Flex-fuel vehicles with a 10-15 per cent blend of ethanol in gasolene.

In Brazil, where the most successful production and use of ethanol in the world has been in place since the mid 1970s, the mix is mandated and has been between 20-25 per cent for several years, and this requires no adjustment nor causes any problems for straight gasolene vehicles - they function normally with that level of ethanol in the gasolene.

I personally own a collector car, a 1956 Cadillac Eldorado, which runs just fine on gasolene that includes 25 per cent ethanol. In fact, gasolene without ethanol cannot be purchased in Brazil - all gasolene sold anywhere in the country contains 20-25 per cent ethanol.

gasolene, ethanol mixture

Flex-fuel vehicles are able to run on any mixture of gasolene and ethanol, or purely with one or the other, which provides consumers with the advantage of choosing which fuel is most advantageous at any given time.

Secondly, the energy content of ethanol is over 70 per cent of gasolene, not 66 per cent. Brazilian consumers have been using ethanol since the mid-1970s, and know that aside from environmental and other gains, ethanol also provides gains for the pocketbook when it costs up to 70 per cent of the price of gasolene.

political decision

Finally, while the international price of sugar, which currently is very low, is a factor in the decision to produce and utilise ethanol, the key is in the political decision a country must make in order to mandate its use as an additive in gasolene.

When its use is mandated, particularly in countries with high import bills, there are multiple gains: lower CO2 emissions, a lower oil import bill, and a lower price per litre for consumers.

I am, etc.,

ADHEMAR ALTIERI

www.unica.com.br

Corporate communications

director

Brazilian Sugarcane Industry

Association (UNICA)

São Paulo, Brazil