http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/21114/story.htm
Thailand to grow more palm for alternative fuel THAILAND: June 10, 2003 BANGKOK - Thailand will spend nearly $200 million to more than double its palm oil production in the next four years and promote its use as an alternative fuel for vehicles to reduce diesel consumption, a minister said yesterday. Deputy Agriculture Minister Newin Chidchob told Reuters his ministry wanted farmers to grow more palm trees and use a mixture of palm oil and diesel to run their equipment and trucks. He said higher demand for the product would raise palm oil prices and help palm growers. Palm oil is extracted from the yellow fruit of the palm tree, which grows abundantly in countries near the equator such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Columbia, and Nigeria. The oil is used mostly for cooking, making margarine, and cosmetics. "The poor palm oil price is always a problem in Thailand and past governments only came up with patch-work measures to try to solve the problem," Newin said in an interview. "We are implementing His Majesty's initiative on bio-diesel to provide a sustainable solution to the low palm price issue." Global oil price fluctuations have persuaded many Thais to explore palm oil and coconut oil as cheaper alternatives to diesel. Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej personally patented a palm oil formula in May 2001 and passed it on to state agencies for further study into its use. Malaysia, the biggest palm oil producer in the world, has also been promoting palm oil as an alternative fuel. Newin said by building up domestic demand for palm oil and raising palm oil output, Thai farmers would be less threatened by cheaper palm oil imports from Malaysia. He said the agriculture ministry would lure farmers, mainly in southern Thailand, with soft loans from a state bank to expand the country's palm plantation by another 800,000 acres by 2007. Thailand currently plants 600,000 acres of palm. Newin said crude palm oil supply would rise tenfold to seven million tonnes a year in 2007, with most of it used by vehicles with diesel engines. Newin said ministry studies showed drivers could save 1.30 baht/litre (31 US cents/litre) if they used one part crude palm oil to every three parts of diesel in their engine. Recent government data showed Thai demand for diesel in the first quarter of this year rose by eight percent from last year to 302,400 barrels per day. "We won't be held hostage by the OPEC any more if most diesel engine users turn to palm oil," Newin said. Story by Nopporn Wong-Anan REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Get A Free Psychic Reading! Your Online Answer To Life's Important Questions. http://us.click.yahoo.com/Lj3uPC/Me7FAA/ySSFAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
