Philippine Ethanol Model May Be Investigated by Indian Producers
U.S. Grains Council (USGC) provided an opportunity to the government and private industry in the Philippines cooperate to promote ethanol to a delegation of sugar-based ethanol producers from India at the seventh annual Bioenergy Week of the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP).
The GBEP (Global Bioenergy Partnership) is a global group that connects public, private and civil society stakeholders to promote bioenergy for sustainable development. The Bioenergy Week forum, held in Manila in June this year, brought together ethanol industry leaders from eight countries across South and Southeast Asia to provide updates on the programs.
Tim Tierney, USGC director of strategic marketing/ethanol – North Asia, said, “The 2019 Bioenergy Week was organized to foster discussion and exchange of experiences and skills related to the practicality of sustainable bioenergy services in Asia. The Council sponsored the Indian delegation to learn about trade flows for ethanol and specifically about the Philippines ethanol industry as a potential model for their own industry expansion.”
Philippines ethanol industry is a two-tiered market system in which domestic ethanol and imported supplies co-exist. Domestic producers, which currently use sugarcane or molasses as feedstock, provide the primary supply of ethanol to meet the country’s E10 blend mandate. The government also provides incentives for building new ethanol plants, which has increased ethanol production to 62 million gallons (235 million liters) and capacity utilization to 83 percent.
As a result, Philippines ethanol industry is appropriately, and it is potential model for India, as the government has proposed on blend rates of ethanol up to 20 percent.
While in the Philippines, the Indian delegation had side meetings with industry, university and government representatives to discuss the two-tier system and how public-private work has achieved cost-savings and environmental benefits – both important considerations for India.
Amit Sachdev, USGC consultant in India, “If India would implement an E10 blending mandate using domestic and imported ethanol, similar to the Philippines, cost-savings could range between $2.87 to $3.12 billion, a consistent availability of ethanol across the country will not only save money, but also ensure lower particulate matter, improving air quality.”
Therefore, U.S. Grains Council has invited delegations from both India and the Philippines to continue their discussions on fuel ethanol use at the Global Ethanol Summit in October 2019 in Washington, D.C., along with more than 250 ministerial-level officials and senior-level industry leaders, ethanol producers and refiners from more than 40 countries.
