Investors losing interest in ethanol production

MANILA, Philippines—Prospective ethanol investors have started to either defer or pull out their planned projects in the country as critical issues on the imposition of higher import tariffs and the establishment of a pricing index for ethanol remained unresolved.

According to the latest Bioethanol Roadmap obtained by the Inquirer, the number of bioethanol investors has been reduced to only nine from more than 20 companies that submitted project proposals in 2008 and 2009. The reduction may further derail the already delayed development of the local ethanol industry.

As of end-2010, the “prospective” companies that remained keen on investing in the local ethanol industry included Green Future Innovations Inc., Cavite Biofuels Producers Inc., Fuel Inc., Negros Biochem, Biofuels International, Canlaon Alcogreen Agro Industrial Corp., JG Summit, Central Luzon Bioenergy Inc. and First Pampanga Biofuels Corp.

Should these companies push through with their projects, the ethanol industry can expect P48 billion in fresh investments over the next several years. These projects can pump in an additional 549 million liters of ethanol supply in the country annually, data from the Bioethanol Roadmap showed.

However, comparing the latest list with the August 2009 roadmap will show that several projects may have been put in the backburner as several critical issues are still being threshed out.—Amy R. Remo