Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff ordered a team of ministers to look into ways of reducing volatility in ethanol prices, including the possibility of government intervention in the market, the Financial Times reported, citing Energy Minister Edison Lobao.
The ministers, who include Lobao, Finance Minister Guido Mantega and Agriculture Minister Wagner Rossi, have 10 days to prepare a report, the newspaper said.
Although Brazil is the second-biggest ethanol producer after the U.S., prices have reached their highest levels in five years in recent weeks, leading many people to switch to more gasoline-based fuel, the FT said.