The mandate could increase costs up to $3.2B per year.
The National Council of Chain Restaurants commissioned a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers that examines the effects of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard mandate on the chain restaurant industry and its small business franchisees.
The results of the study are available in a report titled “Federal Ethanol Policies and Chain Restaurant Food Costs.”
PwC concluded that the mandate, which requires an ever-increasing volume of ethanol fuel from corn to be blended into gasoline each year, significantly increases the food costs of chain restaurant operators.
PwC estimated that the mandate will increase costs for chain restaurants by up to $3.2 billion per year when it is fully implemented in 2015.