BEIJING — Beijing will provide financial
support to biofuel producers, including farmers, if they are
to be made from non-food crops such as agricultural waste,
sorghum or cassava, the China Daily said on Saturday.
"We have worked out a policy to support making biofuel from
non-food products because they are clean sources of energy and have limited
negative impact on the environment," the state-owned paper quoted Zeng Xiaoan
from the Finance Ministry as saying.
The deputy director of the ministry’s deparment of economic
development said farmers would receive 2,700-3,000 yuan ($365-$405) per hectare
for growing forest products or non-food crops for biofuels, including fuel
ethanol and biodiesel.
It will also help producers of such biofuels acquire bank
loans and reward with 20-40 percent of their total investment when their
projects achieve industrial standards, Zeng said.
China is already the world’s number-three ethanol producer
after the United States and Brazil. Its four subsidised plants made about 1.2
million tons of the fuel last year, mainly from corn and wheat.
However, a surge in grains prices has forced Beijing to
review its policy on biofuels. It has lowered its production targets and is
promoting a shift in feedstocks to non-food products, though it is yet to
develop a viable technology, especially for converting agricultural waste into
biofuels.
The newspaper said China’s biodiesel output was likely to
rise to 200,000 tons by 2010 and 2 million tons by 2020.
China, a huge net importer of vegetable oils, faces a major challenge on
biodiesel as it is currently made from oils such as palm oil, rapeseed and
soyoil.
