Introduction: Ethanol, commonly known as alcohol, can be divided into edible alcohol and industrial alcohol according to production methods. Edible alcohol is a product obtained by fermenting food and yeast in a fermentation tank, filtering, and distilling. It is usually an aqueous solution of ethanol and does not contain toxic benzene and methanol to the human body. Industrial alcohol is ethanol obtained by cracking long-chain organic compounds in petroleum under catalyst and high temperature conditions. In order to distinguish it from edible alcohol, industrial alcohol contains a certain amount of organic toxic substances such as methanol, which are also clearly marked and explained on the outer packaging. The ethanol specification monitored by Business Society is food grade 95% ethanol.
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According to the monitoring data of the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, the domestic ethanol market in 2025 will show weak supply and demand, with range fluctuations. The annual average price is 5392.20 yuan/ton, the highest price is 5698.89 yuan/ton, and the lowest price is 5105.00 yuan/ton, with a maximum amplitude of 11.6%, and an increase of 5.01% at the beginning and end of the year; Limited cost support, loose supply, weak demand, and lack of upward momentum in prices. In 2026, it is expected that there will be a weak adjustment due to the temporary selling pressure of corn, which will drag down costs, make it difficult to boost demand, and continue to increase supply. Only winter logistics may bring local fluctuations.
Specifically, let’s take a look:
In the first half of the year, the domestic ethanol market showed a volatile upward trend, mainly supported by the dual benefits of cost side driving and phased tightening of supply side – the price of raw material corn remained stable and slightly strong, coupled with the centralized maintenance of equipment in the industry, the market supply was temporarily tight, and ethanol prices rose accordingly. The price increase gradually transmitted from the Northeast production area to the East China sales area, and the overall increase was limited due to the impact of market supply and demand game.
In the second half of the year, the ethanol market has significant differentiation characteristics, and the overall market is under pressure and weakening. In the third quarter, the market supply increment was released, downstream demand remained weak, and coupled with the synchronous decline in raw material costs, multiple negative factors intertwined, causing ethanol prices to enter a volatile downward channel; In the fourth quarter, the operating rate of domestic ethanol plants steadily rebounded, and market production increased accordingly. However, the demand side’s support for essential needs was insufficient, and the weak pattern remained unchanged. Ethanol prices continued to show a weak consolidation trend, with only some regions experiencing slight price fluctuations due to local supply and demand disturbances.
The main factors currently affecting the development of the domestic ethanol market are as follows:
In terms of cost, corn: as the main raw material for bio fermented ethanol, its price is stable with weak fluctuations, and the purchasing and sales atmosphere at the grassroots level is light. After the new season of corn is launched, the supply is sufficient, and the cost support effect is weakened. Cassava jerky: The supply of cassava ethanol raw materials is tight, prices are running at high levels, production losses continue, and output is limited. The price of ethanol is greatly influenced by the raw material market.
In terms of supply, in recent years, ethanol has become a necessity in people’s daily lives as the main disinfectant, and the proportion of medical alcohol has increased significantly, becoming one of the main uses of ethanol. At present, there is sufficient supply of medical alcohol to meet people’s living needs, and prices are rarely too high in a short period of time due to insufficient supply. In 2025, the total domestic ethanol production capacity will be 18.33 million tons per year (+15.6% compared to 2023), with the increase mainly due to the release of coal to ethanol production capacity, accounting for 21.82% of the total. The production capacity of bio fermented ethanol will remain stable. In terms of production, the cumulative output from January to October was 5.7093 million tons (year-on-year+2.9%), with an average operating rate of 42.77%; In the fourth quarter, the operating rate rebounded and production continued to increase, but the process differentiation was obvious. The increment of coal to ethanol production was significant, and the biological fermentation ethanol was greatly affected by costs and policies. The overall supply had a moderate impact on prices.
In terms of demand, the demand in the chemical industry continues to grow, with the release of new production capacity for downstream products such as ethyl acetate and methyl ethyl carbonate, leading to an increase in ethanol consumption. However, some products are operating under pressure due to cost pressures. The demand in the fuel sector will peak in 2024 and decline in 2025, mainly due to the development of new energy vehicles and policy adjustments, but there is still some support for the promotion of ethanol gasoline in some regions. The demand for Baijiu in the food sector declined slightly, the demand for low alcohol drinks increased, and the overall consumption in the food sector increased steadily. The price of ethanol is influenced by the demand. For example, in the peak consumption season of Baijiu, the price of ethanol will rise significantly.
In terms of imports and exports, data from January to November 2025 shows that at the import end, 775.791 tons of unmodified ethanol were imported (from Georgia, Germany, and South Korea), and 241.72 tons of modified ethanol were imported (from France, Brazil, and the United States); At the export end, 53514.932 tons of unmodified ethanol were exported (to the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Singapore), and 1889.086 tons of modified ethanol were exported (to South Korea, India and Taiwan, China). Due to the extremely low proportion of total import and export volume in the domestic market supply and demand scale, the ethanol price trend throughout the year is less affected by import and export factors.
Summary: In 2025, both the supply and demand sides of the domestic ethanol market will show weak performance, and prices will continue to fluctuate within a certain range. On the cost side, raw material prices provide certain support for the market; However, the loose supply side pattern continues, coupled with the overall weak downstream demand constraint, the market lacks core upward driving force, and prices have been fluctuating within the range throughout the year, without any trend breakthrough market.
Looking ahead to 2026:
The support on the cost side is expected to weaken. As the Spring Festival approaches, grassroots farmers and traders are constrained by the demand for repayment, and corn is likely to experience phased concentrated selling. The market supply is expected to significantly increase, and the price of raw corn will face downward pressure, which will drive the production cost of ethanol to move downwards, bringing negative impacts to the market from a cost perspective.
The demand side continues to lack driving force, and downstream industries mostly adhere to the principle of rigid procurement and prefer to choose low-priced raw materials for substitution or blending, resulting in a lower acceptance of high priced ethanol. The demand side is difficult to form effective pull and cannot digest the incremental pressure released by the supply side.
There are certain variables in the logistics process, such as severe weather conditions such as winter snowfall that may disrupt the efficiency of logistics transportation in production areas. This not only increases transportation costs, prolongs transportation cycles, and weakens the price competitiveness of ethanol in production areas, but also may temporarily disrupt the shipping rhythm of factories, exacerbating the supply-demand imbalance in the local market.
Overall, under the combined effects of multiple factors such as the expected increase in loose supply, weakened cost support, and sustained weak demand, the ethanol market may show a weak adjustment trend in the new year.
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