Toyo plans to build biodiesel plant in RP

Japan’s Toyo Engineering Corp. is planning to build a biodiesel plant in the Philippines, with a capacity to produce 200,000 metric tons, an industry official said. The company had initially estimated it would need to develop 600,000 hectares of coconut plantation to supply the biodiesel plant, but with high-yielding coconut varieties, it will likely only need 300,000 hectares, said Carlos Carpio, deputy administrator of the Philippine Coconut Authority. “The company has set a target of achieving a yield of around 3 tons per hectare by using high-yielding planting materials,” Carpio said. The average yield in the Philippines is much lower, at 1 ton per hectare. To maximize potential yield, Toyo has sought technical support from the Bureau of Soils and Water Management to help identify land most suitable for coconut cultivation, he said. Toyo is eyeing the Ilocos region in northern Philippines, which will provide a strategic advantage in transporting biodiesel from the Philippines to Japan. (September 3, 2007)