Coco-diesel: The Philippines’ Biodiesel
Okay, so I did some research on biofuels in the Philippines. Biodiesel is produced by extracting oil from plants.
The question in my mind while doing so was: Why is commercial biodiesel practically the same price as regular petroleum diesel?
I found out (with the help of my loving husband) that Flying V’s biodiesel blend is B1. Which means it contains only 1% coco biodiesel and 99% petroleum. Hence, the small price difference. So why only 1% you say? Good question. I’ve got an irritating answer (irritated because it makes complete sense):
Too many products are dependent on coconut supply like the food and cosmetics industries. Since coco biodiesel is a lucrative business (all the more at this point in time), the government is afraid that there might be a sudden shift in supply which would wreak havoc in the other industries dependent on coconuts. Just like what happened to Brazil in terms of their corn production due to ethanol demand. It makes sense that our government doesn’t want that to happen.
Though the World Wide Fuel Charter accepts blends of up to 5%, this must be done gradually. There is a law in place. In 2006, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, signed a law that makes it mandatory for fuel companies to use B1 blend (for diesel products) from the year 2009 onwards with increasing increments in the following years. She aims to reduce our dependence on imported petroleum by 3% in 2011.
Even with coco-diesel composing a mere 1% of the total biodiesel blend, it is said that it should be enough to help diesel engines to be fuel efficient thus, more mileage and is still a big help to the environment. These are good things but why do I still feel cheated? I mean, if they really want people to opt for biodiesel, shouldn’t they encourage them by bringing the price much lower? At least around P2.00 ($0.04/liter or $0.17/gallon) because despite the fact that coco-diesel is a NATURAL RESOURCE, it’s also tax-free.
