(May 27, 2010)  Washington – With the approach of the Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the summer driving and barbeque season, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today released a report showing that America’s drivers are directly saving up to $105 a year because lower-priced ethanol is reducing the price of ethanol-blended gasoline. The RFA report also dismisses meat industry claims about why meat prices are rising, showing that ethanol is not to blame because corn prices (a major factor in the feed cost of meat production) are down even though ethanol production is up.

According to AAA, some 28 million Americans will hit the road this Memorial Day weekend alone – a number held back only by environmental and other concerns about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

What does this have to do with American ethanol production? Thanks to growing supplies of clean, affordable domestic ethanol, gasoline prices are approximately 10 cents cheaper than they would otherwise be. At the wholesale level, ethanol has been selling at a 50-70 cent per gallon discount to gasoline before the 45 cent per gallon blender’s credit is taken into account. At a 10 percent (E10) ethanol blend, that translates to significant savings. Based on savings seen at the pump today, the average American household is directly saving up to $105 per year on its gasoline bill with ethanol-blended fuel.

“Domestic ethanol blends are a great bargain for consumers, saving them money at the pump while allowing them to support a truly American industry,” said RFA Vice President of Research Geoff Cooper. “Simply filling up with E10 instead of regular gasoline saves families money at a time when economic concerns and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are front of mind. Ethanol is part of the solution to both concerns.”

The Memorial Day weekend and the summer season also mean barbeques are back. Major meatpacking and grocery manufacturing opponents of the ethanol industry ridiculously blame rising biofuels production for higher grain prices. They say higher grain prices are being passed on to consumers in the form of higher meat prices. Here’s the major problem with that accusation: grain prices aren’t higher. In fact, corn prices are nearly 20% lower than a year ago and less than half of what they were during the oil-fueled speculative commodity bubble in the summer of 2008.

Respected DTN commodity analyst Rick Kment noted in a recent column, “Ethanol continues to be the whipping boy, but blaming the fuel for today's higher meat prices just doesn't add up. In the past four months live cattle futures have increased 25 percent while corn prices have fallen nearly 13 percent.”

“Thanks to the unrivaled productivity of American farmers, Americans continue enjoy the most affordable food supply anywhere in the world,” said Cooper. “The notion that ethanol is raising current feed and meat prices just isn’t supported by the facts. With a record corn crop expected in 2010 and the ethanol industry’s ever-growing output of livestock feed co-products, there will continue to be ample supplies of feed available to America’s livestock and poultry producers.”

“Finally, and most importantly, Memorial Day is a hallowed holiday in America when the nation pauses to remember those defending and those who have defended this nation,” said Cooper. “We pay special tribute to those individuals and families who made the ultimate sacrifice. The RFA wishes to extend its appreciation on behalf of everyone involved in America’s ethanol industry.”