The president from Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, participated in the closing of the “International Conference on biofuels”, in Sao Paulo (Brasil) Photo: EFE.Â

The alimentary crisis is due to the speculation in financial markets, in raw materials, and of the oil industry; the ethanol and the biodiesel, combine growth with environmental development, but also with social responsibility.Â

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, exempted the biofuels today of any responsibility in the world alimentary crisis, that attributed to the speculation in the financial markets and the raw materials. Â

“The alimentary crisis is caused by the derived speculation of the rise of the petroleum and the rise in the prices of the raw materials”, Lula affirmed when closing the “International Conference on biofuels”, celebrated this week in Sao Paulo.Â

Some governments, international and civil society organizations have attributed the world food shortage to the biofuels, because for their production raw materials as the corn and the sugarcane are use, among others.Â

They have also accused to that industry of putting in risk the biodiversity and of exploiting the work under degrading conditions.Â

“A good part of the increment of the food prices is because there are more poor people eating in the world and it is normal that there is an increase of the consumption, but there are many raw materials speculated in the market of futures at absurd prices”, underlined Lula today.Â

The president criticized in the same way the lack of reservations of basic foods as the wheat, rice and corn that from the year 2000 “lowered to the half.”Â

The boss of State also defended the production and expansion of the alternative fuels, as the ethanol and the biodiesel, because “they combine growth with environmental development, but also with social responsibility.”Â

“I recognize that there are legitimate concerns in this debate”, said Lula who accused “powerful interests” of distorting the truth on the biofuels.Â

The representative for Latin America of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), José Grazziano, that participated in the Conference, supported the brazilian biofuel policy and highlighted the potential that other countries of the region have in that field.Â

However, the participants in the international seminar “Agrifuels as obstacle to the construction of the alimentary and energetics sovereignty”, parallel to the conference, condemned in their final document “the pattern and the promotion strategy” of these fuels.Â

The Earth Pastoral of the Brazilian Catholic Church also reaffirmed in the outline of the seminar its accusations that there is slave and degrading work in the sugarcane industry.

Lula also responded to the critics about the danger that the amazon forest runs due to the expansion of the areas dedicated to the sugarcane cultivation for the ethanol production.Â

“In the Amazonía region we won’t have sugarcane, but we will expand our ethanol to very degraded areas”, said Lula, who pointed out that the biofuels can help to solve the international financial crisis.Â

“The crises are threat carriers but they allow opportunities and new roads”, he indicated.�
However, he pointed out, that “the crisis cannot hide other bottom questions as the hunger and the poverty of hundreds of millions of people, neither hide the problems of the climatic change.”

In the conference that gathered academic, industrial and specialist, the relationship of the biofuels with the climatic change, the alimentary security, the new technologies and the world market was debated, among other aspects.Â

The brazilian chancellor, Celso Amorim, on the other hand, asked for the elimination of the protective barriers in the international trade of biofuel so that the poor countries can benefit of that alternative energy source from the economic and social point of view.Â

Also, Brazil and United States announced an agreement to enlarge the scientific cooperation with third countries in the biofuels production area, that will incorporate Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Guinea Bissau and Senegal to that initiative. Â

Source: El Universal/Mexico

SAO PAULO (AFP)-The bioenergy and the renewable fuels open the door to a new time for the humanity, augured this Tuesday diverse participants in the International Conference on Biofuels that is carried out in Sao Paulo.Â

With the development and the expansion of the ethanol and the biodiesel “I believe that we are in a paradigm change, in a time change for the humanity”, expressed this Tuesday the mexican Alicia Bárcena, executive secretary of the United Nation’s Cepal (Comisión Económica para América Latina ). After the era of the fossil fuels, now “it is the era of the biomass, with the humanity developing the triptych of biodiversity, biotechnology and biofuels”, Bárcena affirmed. Â

The president of the Worldwatch Institute, the American Christopher Flavin, meanwhile, during the debate on the climatic matter, proclaimed that a deep change in the world energy matrix is necessary in order to reduce the emissions of hothouse effect gases.Â
“This is a fantastic opportunity to reinvent the agriculture, the reforestation techniques, to create a new industry, new employments”, he said, and assured that “Brazil should assume with India and China a leadership role in this process”. “Brazil already possesses a strong industry in biofuels and it can show, with its experience, the path, to the latinamerican countries, but it also has conditions to become a leader in other sources of renewable energy as the eolic and solar”, Flavin pointed out.Â

The brazilian Fabio Feldmann, founder of SOS Mata Atlántica, argued that the current financial crisis is an opportunity to “the review the world economy architecture, but also to include in the calendar the investments in renewable energy so that the countries can combat the global heating.”Â

The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ), noticed in a document that “the impact of the biofuels in the emissions of hothouse effect gases, varies in function of the raw material used, the local, the agricultural practices and the conversion technology.”Â

“The most important impact is the change in the use of the land, for example, through the deforestation. For that reason the importance for the biofuels production to obey criterias that guarantee its environmental sustainability”, added the document of FAO distributed in the conference.Â

On the other hand, “the reduction of emission of hothouse eefect gases thanks to the use of the biofuels represents significant variations. The biggest reductions are observed with the sugarcane ethanol produced in Brazil and the biofuels of second generation”, it highlighted. The FAO concluded, about this that, “the sugarcane ethanol is also among the biofuels with most energy efficiency, that is to say that fewer consume energy for its production.”Â

Brazil, second world maker of ethanol that extracts it from the sugarcane (it produced 18.000 million liters and exported 3.530 million liters in 2007), and United States that makes it starting from the corn, are the world’s main producers of that biofuel.Â

Officially it is predicted that in 2011 Brazil will increase a 73%Â the export of ethanol (to reach 6.100 million liters) and the internal consumption in a 50%. The export of 2008 should get to the 4.170 millions liters (+18%) and the internal consumption of ethanol this year should be of 18.760 million liters.

Source: AFP

During the days 17 to 21 of November 2008, is being held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the “International Conference on Biofuels: the biofuels as vector of the sustainable development.”Â

The Conference will contribute for the international discussion on the challenges and opportunities presented by the biofuels and it will represent an important occasion for the boarding of the topics related with the biofuels, as energy security, production and sustainable use, agriculture and industrial processing, besides the matters bounded to the international trade, specifications and technical registers, climate change and the future of the biofuels. Â

Representatives of governments, international organisms, parliamentarian, the scientific and academic community, the private initiative, the civil society and NGOs among others are invited to participate in the Conference . All the countries members of the UN have been invited.Â

The event will be organized in two big segments. Segment “Plenary Sessions”, open to the public, during the days 17, 18 and 19 of November 2008 and Segment “Intergovernmental of High Level” during the days 20 and 21 (Dynamic and operating).Â

The conference is being organized by the Grupo Interministerial de Trabalho, integrated by the Ministério das Relações Exteriores; Casa Civil da Presidência da República; Ministério de Minas e Energia (coordenadores); Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento; Ministério do Meio Ambiente; Ministério do Desenvolvimento, Indústria e Comércio Exterior; Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia; e Ministério do Desenvolvimento Agrário. The work documents were elaborated by the Centro de Gestão e Estudos Estratégicos (CGEE) do Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES).Â
Five big topics related with the biofuels will be discussed:Â

a)Biofuels and Energy Security, transition of the energy matrix; diversification of the sources, universalization of the access;Â

b)Biofuels and the Moving of the Climate: Decrease of the emissions of hothouse effect, moving of the use of the land, comparative analysis of the life cycle;Â

c)Biofuels and Sustainability: alimentary security, rent generation, challenges for the echo-systems;Â

d)Biofuels and Innovation: investigation and development: biofuels of first and second generation, opportunities for Science and Technology, andÂ

e)Biofuels and International Market: trading rules; technical matters; social-environmental registers.Â

During the last two days, 20 and 21, the debates will be taken in the sphere of the High Level Intergovernmental Segment, in round tables format, of which the government’s representatives, at ministerial level, and international organisms will participate.

The investments will be made through Petrobras Biocombustible, integral subsidiary of the brazilian state company, created on past July 29th.Â

“With the creation of that enterprise, the company gets ready to assist part of the growing world demand of biofuels, besides reinforcing its commitment with the environment and with the social development in a sustainable way”, Petrobras assured.Â

“The biofuels contributes to the reduction of the global heating and facilitate the employment and rent generation, mainly in the country, with the use of the family agriculture in the production of raw materials”, said the state company.Â

And, “the biodiesel production will allow a smaller dependence of the external market, reducing the volume of diesel imports, what contributes to improve the result of the brazilian commercial scale.”Â
Petrobras Biocombustibles inaugurated two biodiesel factories recently in the municipalities of Candeias (state of Bahia, northeast) and of Quixadá (Ceará, northeast), while a third in Montes Claros (Minas Gerias, southeast), is in phase of “operative aconditioning.”Â

The total capacity of biodiesel production of the three factories will be of 170 million liters per year. In Brazil the use of 3% biodiesel in the diesel derived from petroleum is obligatory, for what it needs to produce 840 millions of that biofuel per year.Â

Source: Invertia

SAO PAULO (AFP)-The Brazilian ethanol, derived from the sugarcane, will be the official fuel from 2009 of the Indy Formula, one of the most important motor racing of the world, according to an agreement signed on Monday in the framework of the International Conference on Biofuels.Â

The Understanding Memorandum was signed when being inaugurated the “Primera International Exhibition of the Biocombustibel”, parallel to the conference, between Alessandro Texeira, of the Brazilian Agency of Exports Promotion (Apex) and the president of the Indy Racing League, Terry Angstadt. Â

“The action is part of the strategy developed by Apex to promote the Brazilian biofuel as alternative of clean and sustainable energy”, Texeira explained.Â

The agreement foresees the ethanol and biodiesel supply during the whole season 2009. The consumption of the Indy formula is of 120.000 gallons (454.000 liters) of ethanol, used during trainings, testings and races of the 18 stages that are disputed in United States (15), Canada (2) and Japan (1).Â

The understanding among Apex Brazil and the Indy Racing League “contributes to the consolidation of the ethanol as global commodity”, commented the Union of Sugarcane Industries (Unica).Â

“In moments of serious energy and environmental financial dilemmas, Unica credits that the use of ethanol originating from different agricultural raw materials (corn or cane) in the Indy Formula would symbolize the dream of a bigger energy integration of the American countries, with potential of extending to the whole planet”, concluded the union.Â

“The initiative contributes to the deepening of the natural alliance between Brazil and United States, main producers and consumers of ethanol of the planet, that together respond for more than 75% of the world ethanol”, said the president of Unica, Marcos Jank.Â

Source: AFP

The high specialization and professionalism of Expobioenergía has transformed it into the  sector´s annual appointment and so is it shown by the numbers that have been mentioned during its third edition. Â

Expobioenergía.08 reached the foreseen objectives and it attracted a total of 13.186 visitors, 40% more than in the previous edition. This fact, next to the high grade of satisfaction shown by the exhibitors makes Expobioenergía become again the obliged appointment of the bioenergy sectorduring 2009. Â

Expobioenergía in its third edition has been able to consolidate and has become the biggest European encounter in the sector of the bioenergy, being able to highlight regarding to other events of similar characteristic by its high specialization level, the high number of exhibitors and represented trademarks (a total of 424), the number of professional visitors and the numerous complementary activities that are developed around this fair.Â

The companies of the sector that are interested in participating in Expobioenergía.09 can already reserve space and profit from the different discounts if they do their inscription before December 19th.Â

Cesefor and Avebiom, organizers of Expobioenergía, will maintain during 2009 the objective, that since its first edition was set: to promote the bioenergy and to generate an outline of experiences exchange among companies and professionals of the sector.Â

Source: Expobioenergía/ María Castañeda

SAO PAULO (AFP)-Brazil will be headquarters of an International Conference on biofuels next week, in which it will promote its sugarcane bioethanol, its main contribution in the segment of the renewable fuels.Â

Representatives of up to 40 countries will attend the encounter, that will last a week in Sao Paulo, and is foreseen to have ministerial level. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will inaugurate it on Monday.Â

Brazil is the biggest world exporter of ethanol and the second producer, behind United States.

When the prices of the petroleum were skyhigh, some months ago, the country awaited a boom of its ethanol exports. Some of the markets that it has as ambition are that of the European Union, with big commitments of enlarging the biofuels matrix, and Japan that has to define the adoption of the mixture of ethanol to the gasoline.Â

But with the crisis, those exports face an arduous competitor: the petroleum reached prices below the sixty dollars and the political impulse to adopt clean energy seems to fall.Â
“With the current crude price level, the ethanol is losing competitiveness in the exporting market”, said this week Alexandre Pirillo Franceschi, boss of the Usina Alvorada company, to the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.Â

The debate on the impact that the biofuels production can have in that of the food or in the advance of the amazon deforestation also seemed to lose force .Â

Brazil has denied such an influence assuring that the production of the sugarcane ethanol is not compatible in the Amazonía and that neither did it have an impact on the production of food that also increased significantly in the last years.Â

“The ethanol was even accused of being responsible for problems as the hunger in the world and the climatic change”, but the conference will show that “the biofuels is the cleanest alternative energy source of the world”, affirmed André Amado, boss of the department of Energy of the Chancellery.Â

A group of social, environmental and small producers organizations will organize a parallel encounter on biofuels to rebut the Brazilian government’s arguments.Â

These will highlight the hard working conditions in the cane fields, where most accusations of slave working took place in the last years, besides environmental damages of the great industry of the ethanol.  Â

Source: AFP

The next leader has a plan for the rural communities of his country. Here, the main points. Â

The elected president of the United States, Barack Obama, and its co-equiper, vice-president Joe Biden, are already working in what they have denominated the “Plan of Support to the Rural Communities.” Â

To guarantee economic opportunities to the establishments of family nature is one of the objectives that heads the list of the next leader, according to his platform.

That will be made by means of a strong safety net, with rural programs that offer stability and predictability. In this line, Obama will apply a limit of payments of US $250.000 to help the family producers. The big agribusiness would be left outside, being eliminated the procedures that allow the big farmers to avoid those limits subdividing their operations in multiple fictitious companies.Â

Also, Obama will reinforce the antitrust law and the protection measures to the producer to guarantee to the independent farmers an equitable access to the markets, the control on its production decisions and the transparency of the prices. The CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations o feedlots) will also be regulated. The Agency of Environmental Protection of Obama will dictate strict norms about the contamination that these big feedlots produce and it will apply fines to those that don’t respect the demanded levels.Â

The energy efficiency will be common to fulfill a very interesting goal: to reduce the energy consumption in USA in 50% by 2030. In this line, Obama assured that he will dedicate considerable economic resources to develop the next generation of “biofuels” and highlighted that the sustainability and the conservation of the natural resources, as the floor and the water will be guaranteed. One of the objectives is that 2 billion gallons of cellulose ethanol enter to the system by 2013 (1 gallon = almost 4 liters).Â

In this line, Obama will make sure that the rural areas maintain their leadership in renewable fuels, since they are under conditions of producing and refining more biofuels and generating more wind power than ever.Â

He will also propitiate the implementation of the Origin Country Labels that the farmers can differentiate their products of the imported ones. Also, he will foment the organic and local agriculture – helping the organic farmers to certify their cultivations and with the crop insurance -, as well as the regional systems of foods.Â

Inside the plan, the incentives will be reinforced so that everyone practices a sustainable agriculture and protects the humid lands, those of shepherding and the forests. The development of the small and microenterprises is another strong point: the farmers will be helped so that they can create companies that add value, as cooperative and processing-plants of their property. Obama also points to the improvement in the rural areas life quality: in sanitary attention, rural education and infrastructure.

By Liliana CobeloÂ

Source: Clarín/Suplemento Rural
 Â

Works will start in 15 days.Â

Dreyfus plans to begin to enlarge its production capacity of the oil factory plant that it owns in Timbúes. Â

In spite of the international financial crisis, the fall of the crushing level because of the smaller sales of the producers and the obstacles to the exports, the group has foreseen to begin in 15 days the works in the plant of soya milling, and for it 200 workers will be incorporated.Â

Representatives of the company were gathered in the Ministry of Labor in San Lorenzo city, where they commented that the idea is to take the plant from 8.000 to 16.000 tons.Â
As they counted, the plant had to delay the investments foreseen for the first semester of the year because of the agricultural conflict.Â

Why enlarge in these contexts? It is that the big groups have a strategic vision and they know that there are fundamental conditions and of structural character for the export of grains that allow to be optimistic to the medium term. They could also process imported soya from Paraguay, since in Timbúes they have a barge quay (besides a biofuel factory).Â
The comment of Dreyfus’ executives sounded as the most wonderful music for the Labor officials due to the working lack that the construction and assembly companies have now a days.Â

From the Ministry of Labor, they confirmed that the plant has not suffered restrictions in its personnel and it continues working with total normality, in spite of journalistic versions that circulated.Â

From the labor portfolio they expressed that there are projects of oil factory companies that are stopped, but that they could be resumed in the medium term.Â
Regarding Dreyfus, it has several investment projects in portfolio, as the new complex of Bahía Blanca (biofuels plant, silos and port terminal) with a payment of around u$s 130 M.Â

It is not the only investment of Dreyfus on the march in that area of Buenos Aires. He bought a property of 23 hectares at u$s 7.000 each one in the industrial park of Olavarría to build a center of strategic storing that will make tip in the direct purchase and it will supply the port of Bahía Blanca.Â

At the beginning of August, the first biofuel plant of Dreyfus began to work in their complex in Timbúes, at the north of Noble. They also inaugurated this year a barge quay.Â
Anabela TramontiniÂ

Courtesy of Punto Biz for Nextfuel Argentina/biodiesel.com.ar
Â

ONE OF THE SPEAKERS. Alperovich was exultant after the President and De Vido announced in Buenos Aires the validity of the program. DYN Â

The national Government regulated the laws that propitiate the incorporation of alcohol to the fuels in the country starting from 2010. The minister De Vido said that the biofuels production implies the creation of at least 4.000 new jobs.Â

The numbersÂ

500 million dollars will demand the investments to produce 300.000 m3 of ethanol annually in the country from 2010.Â

200 million dollars will be necessary in order for Tucumán to elaborate 190.000 cubic meters of ethanol per year and for Salta and Jujuy to produce 110.000 m3.Â
300 million dollars will be destined to the provinces of the NEA that will manufacture 310.000 m3 of ethanol annually.Â

20 percent of the total demand of bioethanol will be contributed by the sugarcane industry and the regional PyMEs, according to De Vido. I guaranteed them “a reasonable profitability.” Â

BUENOS AIRES. – The national Government announced yesterday measures for the bioethanol production starting from the sugarcane that will benefit to the regional economies of the NOA. In an act headed by president Cristina Kirchner, in rooms of the Ministry of Economy, the minister of Federal Planning, Julio de Vido, informed that the program implies to activate private investments superior to the U$S 500 millions and the creation of at least 4.000 new jobs in the region. The governors of the NOA and of the NEA, national officials, managers and union representatives of the sector were present.Â
It is about measures adjusted to Law 26.093 that established the promotion régime to produce biofuels in the country, since from the year 2010 the naphthas will be marketed with at least a 5% mixture with bioethanol, and the gasoil with a similar proportion of biodiesel. Law 26.334 established then the promotion régime to produce bioethanol for the internal market supply and the generation of surpluses for export by means of the formation of chains of value integrating sugarcane and sugar refineries producers.Â
De Vido pointed out that the price of the bioethanol, independently of the utilized raw material, “will be the big between a price related to cost plus profitability and the price of the super naphtha at refinery exit”. He made clear that every year the costs of the industry will be revised to maintain up-to-date its evolution, with what a reasonable profitability will be guaranteed to the whole chain. The minister also referred that the technical specifications that the bioethanol will have to fulfill for its mixture were agreed among producers, the Chamber of the Petroleum Industry and the Association of Automobile Factories.Â

He sustained that the bioethanol production “promotes the energy efficiency, reduces the emission of hothouse effect gases, and will also redound in more incomes for the counties of the NOA and NEA, bigger fiscal incomes for the national State.”Â

Among the present authorities that yesterday participated of the act were, besides De Vido and the minister of Interior, Florencio Randazzo, the governors of Tucumán, José Alperovich; of Chaco, Jorge Capitanich; of Formosa, Gildo Insfrán, and of Jujuy, Walter Barrionuevo.Â

Vice governor of Salta, Andrés Zotto; the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Eduardo Fellner; the secretary of Agriculture, Carlos Cheppi, and the presidents of the Unión Industrial Argentina, Juan Carlos Lascurain, of the Centro Azucarero Argentino, Fernando Nebbia; of the Centro Azucarero Regional de Tucumán (CART), Julio Colombres; of the Centro Azucarero Regional del Norte Argentino, Federico Nicholson, and of the Unión Cañeros Independientes de Tucumán (UCIT), Sergio Fara, as well as the general associate secretary of Fotia, Andrés Galván, were present among others. (DyN – Télam – Especial)Â

Source:Â La Gaceta