February 5, 2015
Business World, by Claire Feliciano
The NBB -- which consists of representatives of the Energy, Agriculture, Agrarian Reform, Science, Labor and Environment departments; the Philippine Coconut Authority; and the Sugar Regulatory Administration -- is mandated by the Biofuels Act of 2006 to review and implement biodiesel blends.
Energy Undersecretary Zenaida Y. Monsada said the study is one of the preparations undertaken by the government to ensure that the increased blend will benefit coconut farmers.
“The Board approved the terms of reference for the study being conducted by UPLB to look into the impact of B5 (5% biodiesel blend),” Ms. Monsada said on the sidelines of a forum in Makati City.
“We want to consider the impact on the agriculture sector, specifically the coconut industry. We want to ensure if the farmers will really benefit from this,” she explained.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is working on a separate study of the impact of the increased blend. It is expected to be released sometime this year.
“NEDA is working on its own study but we tapped UPLB for further assessment,” Ms. Monsada added.
The government remains optimistic that it will meet the target implementation of the increased blend this year.
“We will meet it but most likely implementation will be at the tail end of this year,” Ms. Monsada said.
She also assured that supply concerns are no longer an issue since the coconut produced in the country is sufficient to accommodate the higher blend.
The coconut oil is milled before converted into coconut methyl ester (CME), which is the country’s version of biodiesel.
“We are considering the sustainability of the implementation and impact on the pricing,” Ms. Monsada said.
“On the technical side, we already cleared the concerns. So we are just waiting for the results of the UPLB study,” she added.
“What’s keeping it from being implemented is of course the impact study because we don’t want the motorists to rally because of higher prices due to increased blend,” said Ms. Monsada.
Under the Philippine Energy Plan 2012-2030, the Energy department targets to increase the biodiesel blend to 5% from the current 2%.
By 2020 and 2030, the target is to raise the blend to 10% and 20%, respectively.
The government originally planned to accelerate the implementation of the increased blend last year in response to the calls from various stakeholders.
But implementation took a back seat after typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) hit key production areas in the Central Philippines last year.
The PCA asked the board in June 2012 to fast-track the increase of the mandated blend to keep up with the worldwide fuel charter.
Under the Biofuels Act, the blend may be increased taking into account considerations such as domestic supply and availability of locally sourced biodiesel components such as CME.
The current 2% blend has been in place since February 2009.
The Agriculture department has also been pushing the increased blend to assist the coconut industry.
CIIF Oil Mills Group, which owns five companies that mill copra and refine coconut oil, said in 2012 the 5% blend would require the use of 350,000 metric tons (MT) of crude coconut oil out of the 1.4 million MT produced each year, compared to 140,000 MT under the current 2% blend.
CIIF had noted that the country’s average annual production of coconut oil is around 1.4 million MT, of which 20% is used domestically and 80% exported.
“The 350,000 MT that will be used for B5 domestically will decrease the importation of diesel from other countries, and we will conserve dollars,” CIIF President Jesus L. Arranza said then.
Reference: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Economy&title=biofuels-b...