Philippines may import 150 million liters of ethanol

The Philippines may import around 150 million liters of ethanol this year, mostly from Brazil, as domestic output remains short of demand, a senior government official said. Local production capacity of the biofuel is projected to double to 78 million liters this year from 2009, still far short of the forecast demand of 219 million liters. “We may end up importing around 150 million liters this year, give or take several tens of millions, depending on local production and availability,” Rafael Coscolluela, vice chairman of the National Biofuels Board told Reuters. (January 20, 2010)