Brazil gasoline use up nearly a fifth in 2011

* Gasoline consumption surges as ethanol output dives
* Gasoline imports at record in Dec.
* Expected larger 2012 cane crop would boost ethanol

BRASILIA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Brazil's consumption of
gasoline rose 19 percent in 2011 to 35.5 billion liters, the
National Petroleum Agency said on Thursday, because of soaring
vehicle sales and a spike in the price of ethanol.
Overall, Brazil's consumption of fuels rose by 3 percent
last year to 121.5 billion liters, the agency said, including a
5.2 percent increase in diesel to 51.8 billion liters. Diesel is
used rarely in cars in Brazil, but is a common fuel for the
trucks and other heavy machinery.
Hydrous ethanol consumption, that commonly sold at pumps for
Brazilian drivers, fell 28.9 percent to 10.7 billion liters.
Prices for the fuel climbed last year because of a shortfall in
the supply of sugar cane, the raw material for Brazil's ethanol.

Consumption of anhydrous ethanol, the kind mixed into
gasoline, rose 18.3 percent to 8.4 billion liters. The increase
is a result of higher gasoline sales and despite a reduction by
the government in the percentage of ethanol required in Brazil's
gasoline mix.
Car ownership is rising rapidly in Brazil after years of
strong economic growth that have raised living standards. But
the growth has caused the share of ethanol powering cars in
Brazil, once a model for renewable fuel use, to plummet because
of challenges facing the sugarcane industry.
Last year's sugarcane harvest slumped 11 percent because of
bad weather and a slowdown in the pace of investment in the
crop. High global sugar prices have caused growers in Brazil to
curtail renewal of aging cane plants, thereby limiting supply.
Soaring demand for gasoline has forced state-controlled oil
company Petrobras to increase imports of the fuel. Despite
Brazil's discoveries of new offshore oil fields and its growing
capacity as a fuel producer, the country's refineries can't keep
up with demand.
Gasoline imports reached a record 70,000 barrels per day in
December. Brazil will have to wait until 2013, when the first of
five new refineries under construction begins production, to
boost its own output.
Better prospects for the 2012 cane crop should help temper
demand growth for gasoline this year.

(Reporting by Sabrina Lorenzi; Writing by Peter Murphy)