China agri to shift to non-grain biofuels

China Agri-Industries Holdings said that it would shift to investing in non-grain biofuels in accordance with the mainland’s new policy forbidding biofuels generated from grain crops. The announcement came as the Hong Kong-listed unit of state-backed China National Cereal, Oils & Foodstuffs Import and Export Corp. posted first-half net profit of HK$615.17 million (US$79.36 million), up 95.2% from a year earlier. Turnover rose 54% to HK$11.60 billion (US$1.50 billion) on strong sales of its oilseed business. China Agri’s first non-grain biofuel project will use cassava, sweet potatoes and other vegetables. Aside from its pilot project in Guangxi, the company is also planning non-grain biofuel facilities in Sichuan, Chongqing, Hebei and Hubei in the next three years, Managing Director Yu Xubo said. “By 2010 China plans to generate two million tons of non-grain biofuel, in which we hope half of the production will come from China Agri,” Yu said, adding the cost of making biofuel from non-grain materials was about 14.2% lower than from grain materials. (September 20, 2007)