Thailand in talks to export ethanol to Japan

Thailand is in preliminary talks to explore the possibility of exporting bioethanol to Japan but must cut through a swathe of regulation to free up potential volumes, a senior Thai government official said. “We need a market for our ethanol [such as Japan],” Krairit Nilkuha, director general of Thailand’s department of alternative energy development and efficiency at the Ministry of Energy said, speaking on the sidelines of the ASEAN Energy Business Forum in Dalat, Vietnam. An aide confirmed that Thai ministry officials have been in discussions with Japanese counterparts, adding that they are also “seriously looking” at and closely monitoring ethanol markets in China and the Philippines. (July 22, 2010)