Bioethanol based on corn and its insertion in value chains in the Province of Córdoba, Argentina

Abstract

The demand for biofuels in the world recorded a sustained increase, mainly due to the oil crisis of the early 1970s as well as the product of the new requirements for sustainable production, which show “green energy” as capable of reducing pollution environmental. In Argentina, the production of biodiesel and bioethanol constitute two market segments that begin to gain ground from promotion policies, implemented at the beginning of the second millennium. In the Province of Córdoba, two thirds of corn-based bioethanol is produced and, considering that the main destination of bioethanol production in Argentina is the domestic market, the work is proposed to investigate, from the perspective of territorial development, the existing value chains, the possibilities presented by the production of biofuels for territorial development, identifying the actors that can influence the expansion of this market. Interviews and analysis of secondary data were carried out. The main conclusions show that the bioethanol industry constitutes a market segment with ample possibilities to generate productive chains back and forth, under forms of production according to the new paradigms, with high requirements in scientific and technological and ecologically sustainable innovation.