Bioethanol Squeezes Japan's Juice Makers - Farmers Switch to Sugarcane...

But First Snides Remarks:Eat OR Drive will become the new choice for car owners...many midwestern farmers in the US are already getting more for their corn crop for ethanol production, not animal feed so...up will go the price of meat and other food stuffs...once again the car Internal Combustion Engine become the pig of the economy.What do you think? msnide@theautochannel.com

Tokyo April 30, 2007; The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that major beverage manufacturers will increase the price of fruit juices from May due mainly to a rise in the price of oranges in the international market caused by a boom in demand for bioethanol that has prompted many orange farmers to switch to sugarcane.

Sugarcane is a raw material for bioethanol, which is an alternative auto fuel to gasoline.

The rise in the price of oranges is having a knock-on effect on the price of other juices, such as apple and grapefruit, according to industry sources, causing industry concern over sales.

Meiji Dairies Corp. will increase the price of four Minute Made products from Tuesday, including "Orange 100%" and "Pink Grapefruit 100%" one-liter packages, by 20 yen to 260 yen, excluding tax.

Also Tuesday, Morinaga Milk Industry Co. will increase the price of its four 500 milliliter "Sunkist 100%" series juices by 10 yen to 110 yen, excluding tax, and by 20 yen for one-liter products to 220 yen each.

Nihon Milk Community Co. and Kirin Tropicana also will up the price for some juice products in the latter part of May.

Bioethanol is produced from plants but unlike fossil fuels it does not contribute to global carbon dioxide levels since it actually recycles CO2 already present in the atmosphere. Because of this--and a surge in the price of gasoline due to rising crude oil prices--the demand for bioethanol has been sharply rising.

According to the Japan Fruit Juice Association, switching from orange to sugarcane cultivation has been promoted in Brazil, which accounts for about 60 percent of global orange juice output, leading to a worldwide decline in orange production.