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While sugarcane ethanol fell to 27.33 billion liters because the plants preferred to produce sugar, corn ethanol already accounts for 27% of all fuel produced in the country and solely supported the record of the Brazilian harvest
A fuel that was synonymous with sugarcane has increasingly depended on corn, and it was precisely this switch that guaranteed the record. According to Brasilagro, in a report from April 20, 2026, with data from Conab, Brazil recorded in the 2025/26 harvest the highest ethanol production in the historical series, with 37.5 billion liters, 0.8% above what was produced in the previous harvest. It is the largest volume ever produced in the country.
And the one responsible for maintaining this number has a name. According to Brasilagro, corn ethanol production grew 29.8% compared to the 2024/25 harvest and reached 10.17 billion liters, which represents a little over 27% of the total fuel production in the country. Almost a third of Brazilian ethanol no longer comes from sugarcane.
Sugarcane ethanol that lost ground in the harvest
While corn surged, the traditional product moved backward. According to Brasilagro, the volume of sugarcane ethanol decreased by 6.9% in the same comparison base, to 27.33 billion liters. It is a significant drop in the raw material that sustained the sector for decades.
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And the reason for this decline is a business decision within the plant itself. According to Brasilagro, the lower sugarcane production in 2025/26, combined with the reduction in the average total recoverable sugar and the drop in biofuel prices during much of the cycle, caused sugarcane ethanol to lose competitiveness against sugar and led many sugar-energy industries to opt for producing the sweetener over the biofuel. When sugar pays more, the plant produces sugar.
This flexibility is a rare characteristic of the Brazilian park. The same industrial plant can direct the sugarcane juice to sugar or ethanol, and this decision is reviewed throughout the entire harvest. That is why the fuel volume fluctuates even with stable milling.
How corn ethanol grew so much
The grain’s advance appears in both types of ethanol produced. According to Brasilagro, anhydrous corn ethanol totaled 3.974 billion liters, an increase of 55.4%, while hydrated corn reached 6.198 billion liters, with an increase of 17.3%. Anhydrous corn grew more than half in a single cycle.
On the sugarcane side, both types fell. According to Brasilagro, anhydrous ethanol from sugarcane reached 10.12 billion liters, a decrease of 1.4%, and hydrated ethanol from sugarcane totaled 17.21 billion liters, a reduction of 9.8%. Hydrated ethanol, which is the ethanol sold directly at the pump, was the one that declined the most.
It’s important to understand the difference between the two. Anhydrous ethanol is the ethanol that is mandatorily mixed with gasoline at every pump in the country, while hydrated ethanol is the one that the flex-fuel car driver chooses to fill up with pure. One depends on law, the other depends on the price when filling the tank.
How much ethanol Brazil produces of each type
Combining sugarcane and corn, the division of the fuel becomes clear. According to Brasilagro, total anhydrous ethanol amounted to 14.09 billion liters in the 2025/26 harvest, while total hydrated ethanol reached 23.41 billion liters. Hydrated ethanol is still the largest volume, but it was the one that lost the most in the cycle.
And this composition explains why corn has become a central piece in the sector. According to Brasilagro, there were 10.17 billion liters of corn ethanol, an increase of 29.8%, compared to 27.33 billion liters of sugarcane ethanol, a decrease of 6.9%. One grows almost 30% while the other shrinks 7%.
The advantage of corn lies in logistics and the calendar. The grain can be stored and processed year-round, without depending on the sugarcane milling window, which allows the corn plant to operate without stopping and supply the market precisely in the off-season, when fuel prices tend to rise.
Why corn ethanol exploded in Brazil
Geography explains a large part. Corn ethanol plants have been installed mainly in the Midwest, where there is an abundance of second-crop corn and a high cost to transport this grain to the port. Turning corn into fuel right there solves two problems at once, utilizing the grain and avoiding freight.
There is also a byproduct that changes the equation. The production of corn ethanol generates high-value feed, which gives the plant a second source of revenue that the sugarcane plant does not have. According to NovaCana, corn ethanol production skyrocketed and moved to surpass 25% of the total fuel in the country. It is this combination that made the model viable and attracted heavy investment to the sector.
The numbers show the size of this turnaround. According to Brasilagro, corn ethanol reached 10.17 billion liters and accounts for just over 27% of the total fuel production in the country, in a harvest where the total was 37.5 billion liters. In just a few years, the grain went from zero to more than a quarter of the market.
What the ethanol record means
Each liter produced is fuel that did not need to be imported, a chain of plants, farms, and trucks operating in the country’s interior, and a market that offers Brazilian drivers an alternative when refueling, something that almost no other country offers at the pump.
In the end, the harvest numbers show a sector that broke records by switching raw materials halfway through. With a total of 37.5 billion liters, 10.17 billion coming from corn and a 29.8% increase in this segment, Brazil’s ethanol production was sustained precisely where no one was looking twenty years ago. As long as there is surplus corn in the Midwest, the plant does not stop. Tell us in the comments: do you fill up with ethanol or gasoline?
