January 24, 2008

US company terminates ethanol project  

ConAgra Foods has abandoned plans to build an ethanol plant in Clovis, New Mexico.

The project is cancelled due to increased costs and instability in the ethanol market. The plant which was first proposed in mid-2006, would have produced 110 million gallons of ethanol a year.

Local groups had disapproved of the plant over environmental concerns and protested against the state's decision to grant it the permit. ConAgra then withdrew its application for the permit.

The sector's rapid expansion have driven up commodity prices and depressed ethanol prices, causing profits for corn-based ethanol producers to suffer.

Based in Omaha, Nebraska, ConAgra Foods is one of North America's largest packaged food companies.