China looking to expand non-grain ethanol production - Xinhua (click on)
BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - China will encourage the production of ethanol from non-grain sources amid concern over the quantity of crops diverted to biofuel, leading to rising prices for corn, soy and wheat, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Xinhua was quoting a notice from the National Development and Reform Commission.
Recently, local governments expanded ethanol projects in a manner which has affected grain security, Xinhua said.
Corn accounted for 76 pct of the raw material used for ethanol produced last year.
'The government will immediately suspend the approval of crop processing programmes and undertake investigations of projects currently being built or to be built,' the NDRC said in the notice.
China, which relies mostly on energy sources like coal, has set a goal of producing about six mln tons of clean-burning fuels such as ethanol by 2010 and 15 mln tons by 2020.
kelly.zang@xfn.com
