Brazil conference sees biofuel demand as unsustainable

Loek Boonekamp, head of the OECD
Boonekamp feels that biofuel production will be damaging to the animal feed and meat industries. Even if the oil price fell to the point that it was no longer economic to make biofuels from grains or oilseeds, which stands at about US$90 per barrel in the EU (US$60 in the US), the decision to go ahead has been taken. The consequences will have to be lived with, even though it will prove to be unsustainable, he added.

The picture is not entirely negative as far as animal feed is concerned, Emma Cardy-Brown of Rabobank said. Although the price of maize will certainly increase as more is used to make ethanol, huge amounts of distillers grain, a by-product of ethanol production, will become available. This, as well as soymeal, can be used to feed cattle and pigs and is likely to fall in price.

World Poultry