Philippines Seeks Cheaper Feedstocks for Domestic Bioethanol Production

The Philippine government is seeking to make domestic bioethanol production more competitive by exploring cheaper and more diverse feedstock options. The Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Energy (DOE) are examining different feedstocks, including molasses and sugarcane juice from the sugar industry, as well as locally produced corn.

According to DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr., increasing the country's ethanol blend to 15 percent from 10 percent is a possibility. This would require finding ways to bring down feedstock costs, which have historically been higher than imported supplies.

The government is also looking at using locally produced corn as an alternative feedstock, with an estimated 325 million to 385 million liters of ethanol production capacity currently unused. However, officials note that the problem is not the availability of corn but whether it can be bought at a price that makes ethanol commercially viable.

The DA is studying expanded corn production through better seeds, mechanization, and contract farming between producers and ethanol plants. However, there are concerns about creating another price problem for livestock raisers who rely on corn for animal feed.