B10 biodiesel, a key solution to falling oil palm prices

BANGKOK, April 20 (TNA) - The Thai government has been urged to accelerate the adoption of the biodiesel 10 per cent-blend (B10 biodiesel) for vehicles as a key solution to the problem of falling prices of oil palms and crude palm oil (CPO). Sanin Triyanont, President of the Thai Biodiesel Producers Association (TBPA), said on April 19 that more use of the B10 biodiesel by motorists should be a key and sustainable solution to a drop of oil palm prices and an oversupply of CPO stocks. Sanin cautioned that the falling prices of oil palms on the world market, if not timely addressed, should affect Thai producers and exporters of both oil palms and CPO more seriously late this year when the country's CPO stocks should peak at more than 560,000 tons, from over 400,000 tons currently. Sanin pointed out that CPO exports from Thailand and other countries have faced the problems of oversupply on the world market and trade protectionist measures in such major CPO importing countries as India and Europe. "A key and sustainable solution to the problems is more use of the B10 biodiesel, which is a mixture of 10 per cent palm biodiesel with 90 per cent petroleum diesel, through the Thai government's policy and public campaign on a change, as soon as possible, of the use of the B7 biodiesel currently to the B10 biodiesel by motorists in the country to boost the demand of CPO", the TBPA president suggested. The TBPA president pointed out that the more demand of CPO would also help absorb its current oversupply almost completely as the CPO consumption in Thailand should then rise to 45,000 tons a month or 540,000-560,000 tons a year. According to the TBPA president, the more use of B10 biodiesel should also benefit local growers of oil palms and his association is ready to work together with all relevant parties to solve the problems. Meanwhile, the Thai government has also been urged to negotiate and convince car manufacturers to modify their auto engines to be useable for B10 biodiesel in the near future. Thailand's oil palm plantations now total over 5 million-rai areas (2.5 rai = 1 acre) and should increase to about 6 million-rai areas over the next 3-5 years, while the country's CPO stocks totaled about 2.63 million tons last year, only 0.97 million tons of which were used for the production of biodiesel. (TNA)