biodiesel B5 in stages starting with Putrajaya early next month,
Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Tan Sri Bernard Dompok
said.
“The price will be fixed and we have chosen the petrol stations to
initially offer the product in Putrajaya,” he told reporters at the Palm
International Nutra-Cosmeceutical 2011 (PINC 2011) conference here
yesterday.
The implementation of the biodiesel B5 mandate, he
said, will not inconvenience motorists as the price mechanism will be
determined by the Ministry of Finance (MOF).
B5 is basically a blend of 95 per cent regular petroleum-based diesel and five per cent palm oil-based biodiesel.
The government has put aside RM200 million to set up blending
facilities nationwide to blend diesel with palm methyl ester from June
2011 to kick-start sales of the green fuel, after a five-year delay.
Malaysia has been struggling to implement a mandate to push the blended
fuel and support the palm oil industry that was first introduced in
2007 as more taxpayers’ money is needed to subsidise biofuel blends to
match diesel prices at the pumps.
However, the country is
committed to pushing the Green Technology (GT) agenda as a key source of
sustainable economic growth while safeguarding the environment.
Malaysia has targeted to reduce its carbon emission intensity by up to 40 per cent.
Meanwhile, chairman of Malaysian Palm Oil Council, Datuk Lee Yeow Chor
expects Malaysian palm oil prices to remain relatively strong in the
coming months at the back of a strong export demand for the commodity.
“For the first 15 days of this month, there has been growth of over 20
per cent in terms of export,” he said, adding that the current unusual
warm weather patterns would keep prices up for the commodity.
Malaysian crude palm oil futures climbed to a two-week high on Wednesday
as traders bet on strong demand in the next few weeks as top vegetable
oil buyers India and China restock.
PINC 2011, themed
“Bioactives for a Healthy Lifestyle”, is organised to highlight and
showcase the Malaysian palm bioactive industry and revisit the numerous
developments within the nutra-cosmeceutical industry.
There are presentations on the role and benefits of palm tocotrienols, carotenoids and phenolics during the two-day event.
