Korea to support rapeseed cultivation

The Korean government said that it will support rapeseed plant cultivation to raise the amount of locally produced organic materials used to make biodiesel. Korean biodiesel is a mixture of 99.5% petroleum-based diesel fuel and 0.5% biofuel material, which Seoul plans to increase to 5% in the coming years. The plan calls for three new 500-hectare rapeseed farms to be established by 2009 so the country can produce 2,400 kiloliters of oil every year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said. The country currently has 669 hectares on which the yellow flowering plant is raised, but this is mainly used to attract tourists on Jeju Island. The country needs 90,000 kiloliters of organic material annually, which currently comes from imported soybean oil and recycled cooking oil. The ministry said a total of 2.6 billion won (US$2.75 million) in state funding is to be allocated to acquire arable land. (March 15, 2007)