President Bush and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are expected to sign off on the joint creation of an "OPEC" for ethanol, the bio-fuel that has freed Brazil from dependence on imported resources.


The Brazilian daily O Estado de Sao Paulo, based in the city of Sao Paulo where the meeting will be held, said that the presidents would promote "a kind of OPEC for ethanol, with an inter-American market to guarantee a stable supply of biofuels, with diversified production throughout the region."

Brazil is the world's top producer of ethanol, which it makes from sugarcane. It has also developed biodiesel production from oil-bearing plant crops, to mix with or substitute for fossil fuels in diesel engines.

"An OPEC for ethanol is impossible, because alcohol will never be able to substitute for oil," Venezuelan expert Alfredo Michelena told IPS. "However, it could replace a small percentage of U.S. fuel consumption, equivalent to the oil supplies it receives from Venezuela," he added.