supports sales of biodiesel B3 amid palm oil shortage

BANGKOK, 27 January 2011 (NNT) – The Energy Ministry has encouraged oil distributors to sell biodiesel B3 instead of B5 in order to ease the palm oil shortage problem in the market.

After Bangchak Petroleum Plc recently unveiled a policy to suspend the sales of biodiesel B5 and start offering only biodiesel B3 at its stations nationwide in February, Energy Minister Wannarat Channukul voiced his support for the move as it would help slow down the consumption of palm oil and would be an effective solution to the current shortage. He suggested that palm oil should be mainly used for household purposes while only an excess of the produce should be converted into energy.

As for the government’s effort to keep the retail price of diesel below 30 THB per liter, Mr Wannarat noted that the Oil Fund would not subsidize the reduction of the marketing margin, which is at 1 THB per liter at present. He reasoned that the diesel price in the Singapore market had decreased to 107 USD per barrel and is expected to continue further on the downtrend.