China May Stop Ethanol Production From Corn
BEIJING - Beijing may ask China's four authorised fuel ethanol plants to gradually shift away from using corn as a raw material, Xinhua news agency said.
The state-owned news agency quoted an unnamed official from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) as saying at a seminar on biofuels that the plants would have to switch to non-grain raw materials, such as cassava and cellulose.
But a commission official told Reuters that there was no detailed plan for such a switch, which would not likely happen soon even if officials decided to end production.
"Considering that some regions need ethanol supplies, the production will not stop," said an official with the commission.
"Some of the producers in Henan, Heilongjiang and Anhui are already studying the use of sweet potatoes and cellulose, but the technology is not mature yet," said the official who declined to be identified.
The Xinhua report late on Sunday comes as domestic cash corn prices are starting to climb amid tight grain supplies despite a record 2006 crop, due to increasing demand from corn processing industries, including fuel ethanol producers.
Beijing has already stopped approving the construction of new corn-based fuel ethanol plants, while providing generous subsidies to the four plants, which largely use corn. China is the world's number three producer of fuel ethanol after the United States and Brazil, with Beijing promoting biofuels, including biodiesel, to reduce the country's dependence on imported oil.
"Food-based ethanol fuel will not be the direction for China," Xinhua also quoted Xu Dingming, vice director of the Office of the National Energy Leading Group, as saying.
Story Date: 12/6/2007