China will shift its dependence from corn to sorghum, cassava
and sweet potato plants to make bio-fuel in the next five
years.
Part of the government's efforts to develop bio-fuel without
harming general food supply and security, the shift will ensure a
healthy supply of corn both as food and fodder.
Cassava and sweet potato both are high-yield plants, and though
edible, they are not used as staple food. So their use as raw
material, as opposed to that of corn, won't create any artificial
shortage of food products.
Xiong Bilin, deputy director of the National Development and
Reform Commission's (NDRC) industry department, told China
Daily that the conversion of the four major ethanol production
centers, which have a combined output of 1 million tons, will
neither be too complicated nor costly.
The four plants, along with the newly approved ones, will use
the plants of sorghum, cassava and sweet potato that scientists
have recommended as corn substitutes.
The country's efforts to fight global warming will soon get
another boost with the largest ethanol production facility getting
the green light, said the official with the country's top economic
planner.
The facility in Hengshui in Hebei Province is expected to yield
300,000 tons of bio-fuel, mainly from sweet potato, every year.
The authorities are also likely to approve another
ethanol-making facility. The unit in Jingmen, Hubei Province, can
make 200,000 tons of ethanol from sweet potato plants each
year.
China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs (COFCO) will be the
major investor in both the projects.
China wants to increase its ethanol production from 1 million
tons a year to 2 million tons in 2010, and 10 million tons by 2020.
"Meeting the 2010 target should not be a problem," Xiong said.
The existing four corn-based facilities have already been joined
by a cassava-based unit in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
that can produce 200,000 tons of ethanol a year.
COFCO owns the Guangxi facility, too, which got the authorities'
approval last year before going into operation.
Considering the rising prices of corn and the threat to food
security, the State Council ordered the bio-fuel industry to shift
from food to non-food material in mid-June.
Xiong, however, stressed that irrespective of the raw material
used, the country will continue its shift from fossil fuel to
ethanol to save energy and fight climate change.
Gas and diesel sold in nine provinces is already mixed with 10
percent ethanol, which means the country's dependence on fossil
fuel dropped by 1.3 million tons last year.
But the nationwide demand for fuel is more than 50 million tons
a year. So a lot more ethanol has to be made if ethanol is to be
mixed with fuel throughout the country.
"The country will gradually replace petroleum with ethanol as
the main fuel for its chemical industry," Xiong said.
The government is considering offering a 5 percent tax rebate to
ethanol producers, and some financial subsidies both to the
producers and suppliers. For producers, the subsidy is estimated to
be more than 1,000 yuan (US$130) for every ton of their
product.
(China Daily July 17, 2007)
