Philippines: Biofuels Annual
Local ethanol production is expected to increase through 2018 with import growth not expected to fully offset rising demand. Imports are expected to increase from 260 million liters (ML) in 2016 to 300 ML in 2017, increasing again to 325ML in 2018. Since 2013, there has been no upward trend in blending, which has hovered over E9, but ethanol consumption has risen driven by a larger fuel pool. The target of E20 by 2020 is out of reach. For biodiesel, there has been no significant rise in the blend rate beyond 2.5 percent since 2009, so consumption growth is again driven by increased diesel use. A USAID-funded 2016 policy study recommended postponing raising the biodiesel blend originally set at B5 by 2015.