Colombia's ethanol production in September totaled 41.86 million liters (11.05 million gallons), up 2.5% from August and the highest monthly total on record, Colombian National Federation of Biofuels data shows.
August's ethanol production was also a record, at 40.83 million liters, 7% higher than prior record set in June.
Ethanol production in the first nine months of the year was 333.3 million liters, up 10% year on year and a record for the period.
Ethanol in Colombia is produced from sugarcane and started in the last quarter of 2005, when it totaled 27 million liters, while in 2006, Colombian ethanol fuel production was 266 million liters, data from the country's Asocana sugarcane growers association shows.
In 2014, production totaled 406 million liters, after notching a 7% compound growth rate over the 2007 to 2014 period.
Domestic ethanol sales in September totaled 40.37 million liters, practically unchanged compared with August, but up 10 from September 2014. January-through-September sales totaled nearly 336 million liters, up 9% year on year and the highest on record for the period.
Ethanol consumption in Colombia follows the government's blending mandate, currently 8% anhydrous in most regions and 10% in others.
Colombia has five distilleries with a combined production capacity of 1.65 million liters/day. A sixth, 400,000 liter/day, distillery, is set to come online in 2016.
Colombian ethanol production is expected to reach 500 million liters in 2015, up 23% year on year, according to estimates by Platts agricultural analytics unit Kingsman. Consumption is expected to grow at the same rate as production, to 515 million liters.
