Collaboration on Ethanol Sought by Illinois and Mexico

Mexican Governor Vicente Fox and Illinois Governor George Ryan have held discussions regarding the production of ethanol in Mexico from its surplus sugar.   Governor Ryan dispatched Illinois Agriculture Department Secretary Joe Hampton and Commerce and Community Affairs Department Secretary Pam McDonough to Mexico to meet with government officials and Pemex, the country's state-owned oil company, to discuss the production and distribution of ethanol.  Illinois would also seek to export corn to Mexico for tortilla production.