Figures released by the International Grains Council (IGC) last week have sparked another warning in the food versus fuel debate for global grain use and production.
The IGC statistics indicate global industrial grains usage in season 2009-10 will reach a record 257 million tonnes.
At the indicated level, industrial grain use accounts for 15 per cent of the expected 1.7 billion tonnes of global grain disappearance in 2009-10.
Industrial grain use excludes food, feed and seed grains.
Global grain feed use is expected to reach 752.2mt, or 43pc of aggregate disappearance.
The IGC reported that grains used to make biofuels had continued as the major cause of growth in industrial grain use.
Grains used for biofuels in 2009-10 were forecast at 124.9mt, an increase of 15pc from 108.9mt from the previous year's crop.
Pointing to the importance of the increase in grain use for US ethanol output, the IGC said America would convert a record 108.5mt of grain into ethanol this year; 87pc of global use for ethanol.
At the same time, the expected US rise of 13pc was less than half the average growth in the preceding five years.
This slowing was attributed to the approach of output to mandated levels of use in blending with gasoline.
The IGC projected food use at 609.7mt in 2009-10, representing 35pc of the global total.
The 1.7bt aggregate disappearance of grain in 2009-10 was up slightly more than 1pc from the previous season.
Industrial use of all grains, at 257mt, will be up 8pc from the prior year's 239mt.
That increase fell short of the rise of 10pc in the prior year and 16pc in 2007-08.
Of the various industrial uses, ethanol, for both non-fuel purposes and for fuel, accounted for 135.7mt, against 119.3mt in 2008-09 and 97.3mt in 2007-08.
Other industrial uses were considered stable, including starch at 86.8mt, against 85.6mt in 2008-09; brewing at 33.4mt, compared with 33.1mt, and "other" at 1.1mt, compared with 1mt.
UWA Institute of Agriculture Director Professor Kadambot Siddique said more and more grain was being utilised for ethanol production, which could also be used for food/feed consumption.
Professor Siddique said that the increase would have future implications for global food security and sustainability.
He said on a global basis, the amount of ethanol produced from grain stocks, was only a small percentage of total fuel production, and therefore only a partial solution to fuel shortages.
Professor Siddique said Australia needed to focus on various aspects of the alternative energy issues, and not just biofuels.
He said biofuels was "one bullet", and other alternative energy sources needed to be explored.
"The global potential for biomass energy production is large in absolute terms, but it is not enough to replace more than a few per cent of current fossil fuel usage," he said.
"Thus biofuels may be a small part of the answer to global energy scarcity and mitigation strategies to climate change.
"Priority should be given to energy conversation strategies together with the development of other renewable energy sources such as geothermal, solar, wind and tidal."
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