Colombian Ethanol Output To Surge In 2009

Colombian ethanol output is expected to more than double to 2.42 million liters a day by the end of 2009 as new projects come onstream, Agriculture Minister Andres Fernandez Acosta said on Wednesday.

He told Reuters in an interview that Colombia, the number two ethanol producer in Latin America after Brazil, was seeking new investors to join projects to boost ethanol production capacity and create jobs in the South American country.
Fernandez Acosta, visiting London to promote biofuel investments in Colombia, said six new projects this year would add 1.37 million liters a day of new production to the present level of 1.05 million liters a day. He gave no details.

Colombia is seeking to boost its ethanol and biodiesel production to meet stringent targets for blending biofuel with petrol in the coming years.

Fernandez Acosta said Colombia had the potential to grow sugarcane for biofuel production in an area of 3.9 million hectares, sharply up from 478,000 hectares today.

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