Good points YC. Also there has to be a geo-political element to it. Brazil has been doing well out of fuel made from sugar cane. So why not the focus from other countries. The US are desperate to produce there own ethanol out of corn. They don't have the sugar potential, and wouldn't want to import it if they could help it. I'm sure the powers that be are well aware of the effects of high corn prices etc, I'm sure the high prices could be reduced to some degree if more attention was placed on sugar cane for creating fuel.
Not only will sugar cane land be lost to other forms of agri, but what will be the effects of the EU no longer providing subsidies to former colonies. This would have to put pressure to reduce sugar cane land use.
