BRAZIL TOP FOR BIOFUEL INVESTMENT, BUT MORE NEEDED
SAO PAULO, March 29 (Reuters) - Brazil needs to invest more in biofuel production despite ranking as the No. 1 destination for investment in renewables, to meet higher future demand, analysts F.O. Licht and an industry official said on Tuesday.
Brazil drew one quarter of the $5.6 billion invested worldwide in biofuel production plants in 2010, or $1.76 billion. Biofuels projects in the United States and European Union attracted $1.13 billion and $893 million respectively.
BRAZIL 2011/12 CANE, ETHANOL OUTPUT TO RISE-F.O.LICHT
SAO PAULO, March 29 (Reuters) - Brazil's production of cane-derived sugar and ethanol will increase slightly in the 2011/12 season compared to the previous year, analysts F.O. Licht said on Tuesday.
Sugar output would rise almost 3 percent to 42 million tonnes (raw equivalent) from 40.8 million tonnes in the 2010/11 season, while production of ethanol biofuel would rise to 25.1 billion liters from 24.9 billion liters in the last season.
BIOPETROL TO CLOSE GERMAN BIODIESEL PLANT
HAMBURG, March 29 (Reuters) - Swiss-German biodiesel producer Biopetrol Industries AG said on Tuesday it will close its biodiesel plant in Schwarzheide in central Germany because of continued overcapacity and low earnings.
The 150,000 tonne annual capacity plant will close in June, said Biopetrol, which is controlled by Swiss commodity group Glencore.
EU FINDS US EVASION OF BIODIESEL TAX -SOURCES
BRUSSELS, March 25 (Reuters) - The European Union executive plans to widen punitive import taxes on U.S. biodiesel and extend them to Canada, citing evidence of illegal tariff evasion, people familiar with the case said on Friday.
Certain biodiesel blends entering the EU from Canada and all U.S. blends will face tariffs of up to more than 400 euros ($566.4) per tonne of biodiesel according to initial European Commission plans, the sources told Reuters.
BRAZIL PETROBRAS IMPORTING GASOLINE TO MEET DEMAND
RIO DE JANEIRO, March 25 (Reuters) - Brazilian state oil company Petrobras is importing a cargo of gasoline to meet strong fuel demand, the company's supply director Paulo Roberto Costa said on Friday.
That cargo should provide 10 days supply of gasoline and will reach Brazil by April 15, Costa said, adding the fuel would be held in storage in case it is needed. He did not provide the exact volume of the cargo.
BET ON HIGH CRUDE AND PICK ETHANOL-SUGAR CHIEF
NAIROBI, March 25 (Reuters) - Crude oil prices on a higher plateau should encourage sugar producers to diversify into ethanol production, helping to cushion the impact of an inevitable fall in the price of the sweetener, a global sugar body said.
Global ethanol production from all sources is expected to surge to 140 billion litres a year by 2015 from 90 billion now. Although the bulk of global ethanol production is from corn, sugar cane is an important source of the liquid.
S.AFRICA'S ILLOVO SAYS MAY OPT TO PRODUCE BIOFUELS
JOHANNESBURG, March 24 (Reuters) - South Africa's Illovo Sugar may opt to produce biofuel from sugarcane if it makes commercial sense, its managing director said late on Wednesday.
South Africa's Department of Energy said earlier this month it would make a pronouncement on regulated bioethanol and biodiesel prices by March next year.
SASKATCHEWAN TO REQUIRE BIODIESEL IN FUEL IN 2012
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, March 23 (Reuters) - Saskatchewan will require an average of 2 percent of the diesel fuel sold in the Canadian province to come from renewable sources, starting next year, a move that gives farmers a new, local market for lower-grade canola crops.
The C$26-million ($26.5 million) biodiesel program, announced as part of Saskatchewan's 2011-12 budget on Wednesday, includes a five-year incentive of 13 cents per litre for renewable diesel made in the province.
WORLD ADVANCES ON CELLULOSE ETHANOL, BRAZIL LAGS
SAO PAULO, March 28 (Reuters) - Research to develop second-generation ethanol is advancing globally, but Brazil, which vaunts its sugar cane as the ideal raw material for such fuels, lags in the race, industry experts said on Monday.
Investments from foreign companies associated with local producers have arrived in the country. But funding for research remains scarce and ethanol producers themselves have been shy to bet more aggresively, said Jaime Finguerut, industrial research manager at the Cane Technology Center, CTC.
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