Brazil will become a net importer of U.S. corn-based ethanol as high sugar costs create a shortage of the biofuel in the South American country, boosting the price link between the crops, C. Czarnikow Sugar Futures Ltd. said.

Brazil has imported 500 million liters (132 million gallons) of ethanol from the U.S. since 2010, equal to 800,000 metric tons of sugar or 1.2 million tons of corn, Czarnikow said in a report today. Millers in Brazil are using more sugar cane to produce sweeteners instead of ethanol, the broker said.

Cars in Brazil can run on either 100 percent ethanol or a mix of gasoline and the biofuel. The government has cut the mandatory amount of ethanol to be blended into gasoline to 20 percent from 25 percent this year because of a shortage.

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