Preliminary data published by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) and compiled by the Union of the Sugarcane Industry (UNICA) indicate that, in the accumulated from January to July 2020, the consumption of hydrate indicates a retraction 17.1% over the same period in 2019, with a total consumption of 10.47 billion liters.

Fuel consumption by the light vehicle fleet, in equivalent gasoline, in turn, reached 4.04 billion liters in July, a 10.9% decrease when compared to the same period in 2019. In the accumulated of 2020, consumption in the domestic market it reached 26.77 billion liters, which represents a decrease of 12.4% in comparison with the same period of 2019.

In July, 2.31 billion liters of ethanol were consumed. The result signals the highest monthly volume demanded since social isolation measures were adopted in March. Of the total, the consumption of hydrated ethanol totaled 1.51 billion liters in the country, indicating an increase of 12.9% when compared to the volume registered in the month of June 2020.

The improvement in the competitiveness of biofuel in the main consumer centers compared to its fossil competitor in the last few months has made it possible to maintain a high participation in the fuel matrix of the Otto cycle. In the accumulated result for the year, the index, which measures the volume of hydrated and anhydrous ethanol consumed by the fleet of passenger vehicles and light cargo, indicates 47.0%.

"The high participation of ethanol in the matrix is even more relevant at this time when we have a drier air and greater accumulation of pollution. As ethanol is significantly less polluting than gasoline, the expansion of its use means a protection to health of the urban population at the time of a pandemic ", explains Antonio de Padua Rodrigues, technical director of Unica.