USGC revisits Ghana, Nigeria to expand ethanol’s reach
Summary
“A fully implemented E10 policy in Nigeria provides a market to reduce local post-harvest losses supporting local producers and also providing additional environmental and economic benefits,” said Ramy H. Taieb, USGC Middle East, Africa and Europe regional director. “If Ghana is the first Economic Community of West African States member to source ethanol for gasoline blending purposes, the country will have a competitive advantage in local distribution and trading.” The group began the mission in Accra, Ghana, before traveling to Abuja and Lagos in Nigeria. Travelers from the Council included Taieb; Joana Hassan, USGC manager of global ethanol programs; Jad Wakileh, USGC ethanol consultant for the Middle East, Africa and Europe; Mike Lorenz, Growth Energy senior vice president of market development; and Jose Jimenez, Zeeland Farm Services commercial and supply chain director. “While COVID-19 kept us out of both markets for over two years, it was good to finally have an opportunity to engage with stakeholders on the ground to emphasize our commitment to providing technical support as both countries work on developing and enforcing favorable ethanol policies,” Hassan said. Following the success of this mission, the Council plans to organize targeted workshops to address technical needs and foster policy building.