Malaysia lowers biodiesel mandate to B3

Malaysia has announced plans to proceed with a 3% biodiesel blend in petroleum diesel fuel, down from the 5% planned earlier, when it rolls out its biodiesel mandate in 2010. The implementation may also be delayed by several months because key issues such as infrastructure costs, logistics, quality standards and capital expenditures to sustain the biodiesel industry have yet to be addressed. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board which collects the funds in the form of a cess from palm oil plantations nationwide collected 400 million ringgit (US$118.26 million) from its members this year to defray the cost of replanting trees and for biodiesel manufacture, but the allocation is expected to decrease next year due to lower palm oil prices. (November 13, 2009)