The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) says the industry has lost more than $3.4 billion in revenue stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. An industry analysis released by the association this week also found that pandemic-related damages in 2020 and 2021 could reach nearly $9 billion. The data is based on the latest projections from the Energy Information Administration and Agriculture Policy Research Institute. Between March and June of 2020, the study by RFA found the cumulative decline in ethanol production and consumption exceeded 1.3 billion gallons, and nearly 500 million fewer bushels of corn were used in ethanol production during the period.
Assuming current market conditions do not deteriorate, total pandemic-related revenue losses for the industry could approach $7 billion in 2020 and $1.8 billion in 2021. However, if states adopt additional travel and business restrictions, the losses may be larger and may even surpass the $10 billion estimate from RFA’s initial forward-looking analysis released in April.
