4. History of Ethanol in Brazil Brazil has the tropical climate that is required for the productive culture of sugarcane. Brazil has the largest sugarcane crop in the world, and is the largest producer of ethanol in the world. High government sales taxes on gasoline , as well as government subsidies for ethanol , have cultivated a profitable national ethanol industry. Nearly all fueling stations in Brazil offer a choice of either E25 or pure ethanol. With the 1973 oil crisis the Brazilian government initiated the National Alcohol Program was a nation-wide program financed by the government to phase out all automobile fuels derived from fossil fuels in favour of ethanol. The decision to produce ethanol from fermented sugarcane was based on the low cost of sugar at the time.
