Philippines: Biofuels Annual
Ethanol production using sugarcane and molasses in 2018 is expected to increase to 270 million liters (ML) from 235 ML the previous year as aggregate capacity increases. Blending peaked at 10 percent in 2014 but declined to just over 9 percent in recent years, and will further drop in 2018 due to new taxes on petroleum fuels and motor vehicle sales. For biodiesel, consumption growth is driven by increased diesel use since 2009 with the blend rate peaking at 2.8 percent in 2016 due to increased motor vehicle sales. The planned 5 percent blend in 2015 has not happened due to high coconut oil prices relative to petroleum fuel. The Philippine Department of Energy, in its latest energy plan has recommended maintaining the current ethanol and biodiesel blends (10 and 2 percent, respectively) through 2019, and revisit blend targets through 2040 due to feedstock concerns and pricing.
