21/11/05  RIO DE JANEIRO (Agence France-Presse) - Brazil could lead the world toward a revolution in biodiesel and become a world energy leader, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Friday.

"By year end, we will have 350,000 (persons) working on biodiesel, which will be an energy revolution," Lula told reporters.

"I am convinced that in the next 10 or 15 years, we will be proud to see Brazil be the country at the leading edge in biodiesel production," he said.

Lula has made biodiesel production a centerpiece of his presidency. In March, he inaugurated the first production facility in the state of Minas Gerais and on Thursday visited the first 10 businesses ready to produce the fuel.

On Friday, Lula said that Brazil can produce biodiesel more cheaply than the United States can by using corn, or Europe by using sugar beets. Brazil would grow sunflowers, soy and other tropical plants.

"Few countries can compete with Brazil, because God gave us sun, land and hard-working people," Lula said. He also hoped that soon Brazil would produce cars that can use the fuel.

Fuel self-sufficiency has been a long-term dream for Brazil, an oil importer, which embarked on a similar effort to produce ethanol from sugar cane decades ago.