Keep in mind that Brazil is using mainly cane waste left after harvest, an extremely low value commodity that formerly was simply burned in the field. Corn, in contrast, is a food source with an intrinsic value as such. This is a bit of the apples and oranges problem when comparing how much ethanol you get from a pound of source material (that may have other uses, like food production) and applying "the next best use" doctrine of the standard economics model.
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Keep in mind that Brazil is using mainly cane waste left after harvest, an extremely low value commodity that formerly was simply burned in the field. Corn, in contrast, is a food source with an intrinsic value as such. This is a bit of the apples and oranges problem when comparing how much ethanol you get from a pound of source material (that may have other uses, like food production) and applying "the next best use" doctrine of the standard economics model.