Whereas some European countries like Germany and Sweden are long-time fans of biofuels, southern European countries seem to need a little more help.
Portugal has announced a new tax exemption for national producers to help them being a strong player in the biofuel market. There are no Portuguese companies currently producing ethanol, most of it being imported from Brazil. In order to compete with cheaper sugarcane-produced ethanol, the Portuguese government has announced tax exemptions for corn producers to manufacture bioethanol. Galp, the biggest retailer of oil products in the country has announced that it can only sell Portuguese ethanol if the price is competitive against Brazilian. It sounds like a known story, doesn’t it? Galp is also planning to sell 100 billion tonnes (metric) of biodiesel in 2008 made from imported Brazilian or Angolan soyabeans. Plans are to reach 200 billion tonnes in 2009.
Tags:biodiesel, bioethanol, biofuels, diesel