Cuba scales back ethanol expansion in light of Castro campaign against US ethanol; Cuban output to increase by 100 percent, down from 500 percent

In Cuba, the director of the Sugar Cane Derivatives Research Institute said that the country will reduce ethanol production forecasts. The director confirmed that the country would double its production of ethanol to 52 Mgy, a reduction from a prediction of a 500 percent increase made in 2006, and a massive expansion announced earlier this year. Director Luis Galvez attributed the change top market conditions, land use concerns and national policy, referring to an international campaign by Fidel Castro against the production of ethanol from food crops.

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