Honduras mulls ethanol to cut crude imports

02 July 2008 22:44  [Source: ICIS news]

PIRACICABA, Brazil (ICIS news)--Honduras may implement a 10% ethanol blend in its gasoline to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels, a local sugar producer said on Wednesday.

“Lawmakers are expected to look into the issue next month, and if a law is passed the mandate would be implemented in two years,” said Amilcar Ramirez, operations manager at Compania Azucarera Tres Valles (CATV).

Ramirez said Honduras would need about 45m litres/year of ethanol to replace 10% of its gasoline consumption.

The country does not produce the biofuel now, but Ramirez said sugarcane mills could switch production from sugar to ethanol to meet the proposed mandate in two years.

Honduras has six sugarcane mills with combined sugar capacity of 450,000 tonnes/year, he said.

Ramirez spoke to ICIS news during the 2008 SIMTEC, an annual sugar and ethanol industry technology exhibition in Piracicaba, Brazil.

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By: William Lemos
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