5/10/05 PETALING JAYA (The Star) - The sale and use of biofuel - amixture of 5% processed palm oil and 95% diesel - will be made mandatoryin 2008.

It will be implemented after the Biofuel Bill is tabled and passed byParliament next year.

"Once the Bill is passed, industries, motorists and petrol stations willbe given a year to voluntarily switch to biofuel.

"We want the public to test the fuel and give us feedback," PlantationIndustries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui told TheStar.

He said once the trial period was over, the Government would make itmandatory for diesel to be replaced with biofuel.

"There will no longer be unadulterated diesel on sale. We will enforce itand make everyone comply," he added.

Records from the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry showed thatlast year, industry demand for diesel was 2.8 billion litres while dieselsold at subsidised prices for other uses totalled 5.56 billion litres.

Having a 5% mix would mean cutting down the reliance on diesel forindustrial use by 140,000 litres and for other uses by 278,000 litresannually.

The use of biofuel will also help cut down carbon monoxide emissions fromvehicles and machines, as the combustion of biofuel produces carbondioxide.

Chin said the Government’s target was to export 180,000 tonnes of biofuelby 2007.

"We have the capacity to produce enough for domestic use," he said.

Former Malaysian Palm Oil Association chief executive M.R. Chandran saidit was important the Government ensure that petroleum companies compliedwith the National Biofuel Policy and Biofuel Act.

"We need strong political will to compel petrol kiosks to make biofuelavailable," he said.

He said it was important for biofuel producers and petroleum companies towork together to make biofuel available to the public at petrol stations.

Chandran said Malaysia could convert 500,000 tonnes of its totalproduction of 15 million tonnes of crude palm oil into biofuel.

"The 5% mix of processed palm oil with diesel will not affect theperformance of vehicles," he added.

On concerns that the push to use biofuel meant clearing more land forplanting oil palm, Chandran said any expansion in the future would be donein a sustainable manner.

"The country is the top producer of palm oil in the world with almost fourmillion hectares in plantations.

"Our maximum capacity is to plant another 600,000ha and produce a maximumof 20 million tonnes of palm oil annually," he said.