Govt bans imports of biodiesel
Thursday, August 29 2013 - 11:00 AM WIB
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has issued a regulation to ban the imports of biodiesel in order to push the production of biodiesel at home, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Susilo Siswoutomo said on Thursday.
Susilo said local companies may import diesel fuel but they have to blend it with the locally-produced fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) or ethanol in order to produce biodiesel products that meets the specifications set by the government.
The ministry, through a decree, has made it mandatory the use of biodiesel starting next month for the sector that is entitled to use subsidized fuels (transportation sector, excluding transportation in the mining sector); and starting next year for the sectors that are barred from using subsidized fuels (power sector and industries).
The content of FAME or ethanol in biodiesel is set at 10 percent for the transportation sector and industries; and 20 percent for power plants.
The policy was introduced to reduce the imports of diesel fuels and to help the crude palm oil (CPO) industry which is now under pressure due to falling price of their products. FAME is produced from palm oil.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon