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Special
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Written by Sabrina Deparine
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Tuesday, 07 September 2010 09:29 |
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Page views: 725 |
Malaysia once dreamed of becoming the global leader in the biofuels industry. In fact, the Malaysian government unveiled huge plans for the biofuels industry in mid-2008, at the height of fluctuating crude oil prices. Sad to say, that dream will remain a dream for now.
The once-vaunted biofuel industry has halted majority of its operations ever since the Malaysian government announced last March its decision to delay the switch to biofuels to June 2011. This decision was not easy but the government eventually decided to set aside its biofuel plans due to cheaper crude oil prices and higher costs of palm oil and feedstock.
In terms of biodiesel, for instance, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) revealed that the production of 5% biodiesel blend dropped tremendously from 12,640 tons in March of this year to only 137 tons last July. The country’s current resources can produce as much as 2.6 million tons of biofuels per year but the demand has declined and dried up. At the moment, there is no demand for biofuel because the government has delayed its plans until middle of next year which means that there will be no subsidies provided. Companies and investors in the biofuels industry do not have sufficient means to cover the costs on their own especially since there are only negative margins in the domestic market. |
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