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13 July, 2010 BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina will make energy companies double the amount of soy-based biodiesel they blend with regular diesel fuel by the end of this year, the government announced on Thursday. The fuel-mix requirement will be raised from 5 percent now to 7 percent initially and to 10 percent by year’s end, Planning Minister Julio De Vido said. Argentina is the main global exporter of soyoil and some analysts say that greater local demand for biodiesel could eventually reduce shipments abroad. This week we’ll publish a resolution to bring it (the fuel-mix requirement) up to 7 percent and the same resolution will include the strategic objective of reaching 10 percent by the end of 2010,” De Vido told state television. “This gives us a chance to reduce dependence on soyoil exports and permits us to use this oil to expand Argentine fuel reserves,” he added. Argentina’s soyoil shipments have been clouded by a two-month-old trade dispute with top buyer China, which blocked Argentine imports in retaliation for the South American country’s restrictions on Chinese manufactured goods. Argentina is the fourth-biggest global biodiesel producer, with a production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes per year. The current 5 percent biodiesel fuel-mix requirement, mandated by a law that came into force earlier this year, represents production of around 800,000 tonnes, according to the Carbio biofuels chamber, which groups larger producers. The group has estimated this year’s biodiesel exports could exceed the 1.15 million tonnes shipped last year. (Reporting by Nicolas Misculin; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by David Gregorio) SOURCE: REUTERS Deje un comentario |
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