Copersucar and JAG – Jamal Al-Ghurair Group launch ethanol shipping company

Brazilian ethanol producer Copersucar has partnered with the JAG – Jamal Al-Ghurair Group to form a new shipping company which will deliver ethanol and sugar around the world.

The two companies will hold a 50% share in the new business, Copa Shipping Company, exporting 600 million litres of ethanol and five million tonnes of sugar throughout its first year of operation.

The joint venture will see $272 million (€200 million) invested into a terminal at the port of Santos in Brazil, which is owned by Copersucar, over this year and next.

The Copa Shipping Company will have offices in Brazil and Dubai and will be managed by a maritime freight team.

This is not the only investment plan for Copersucar. The company is also spending around $900 million on terrestrial logistics over the next four years, in projects that include an ethanol pipeline.

Copersucar produces 135 million tonnes of sugarcane a year through its 48 mills. It is estimated that this year’s crop will create 5.2 billion litres of ethanol, about 25% more than last year’s produce.