Expert Says Ethanol Is Helping Keep Oil Prices From Rising Further

London, England (AHN) - Soaring food prices have led to a global debate on the wisdom of using food crops as feedstock for biofuel production. Despite being hailed as a "green" energy source, ethanol production has also been blamed for causing the price of wheat, corn, rice and other basic food staples to rise beyond the reach of ordinary people.

However, Francisco Blanch, an analyst at Merrill Lynch told the Wall Street Journal that world oil prices would be 15% higher were it not for the expanded production of biofuels. For the U.S., given its number of vehicles, without the ethanol mix, gasoline prices would have gone up by 25% and diesel by 16%, Blanch said.

The debates notwithstanding, the outlook for the ethanol industry for the next five years looks bright. According to the International Energy Agency estimates, at least half of the new fuel entering the market in 2008 outside OPEC's production will come from sources other than oil.

The global ethanol industry will be the focus of the 3-day World Ethanol 2008 Conference, which includes a leaders' summit, streamed sessions and other important discussions to be led by senior executing from major biofuel companies. It will be held Nov. 3-6 in Paris, France.