BRAZIL, the world’s largest producer of ethanol from sugar cane, will be helping Jamaica in its production of ethanol. Yesterday, the foreign ministers of both countries signed three agreements as well as a joint communiqué, geared at increasing co-operation and technical assistance in ethanol and sugar production, as well as on technological co-operation in agriculture, among other matters.

Speaking at a press conference to conclude the visit of Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, Jamaica’s Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister K D Knight said that Brazil was already assisting Jamaica in increasing its production of ethanol through the updating the technology and in refitting the ethanol plant at Petrojam, Jamaica’s sole oil refinery.

Knight said the two countries had agreed to deepen the co-operation in keeping with Brazilian President Lula daSilva’s focus on increasing trade and other relations between developing countries of the south.

Brazil, which converts over 40 per cent of its sugar production into ethanol, has also led the way in the development of automobiles that run on alcohol-based fuels as well as flex fuel vehicles that utilise both gas and alcohol.

With a new and lower pricing regime being proposed by Europe for Jamaican and other ACP sugar producers, diversification into value-added and higher-yielding sugar-based products like ethanol, when combined with the rising price of imported oil, should give added urgency to such initiatives.

Among the other deliberations undertaken during the foreign minister’s worldwind two-day trip, Knight cited fruitful discussions on hemispheric issues and Caricom, the reform of the United Nations system with regard to veto power, and Brazil’s desire to become a permanent member of the UN Security council.