Industrialists from the Philippines urge the government to allow them to import molasses-a raw material required to produce bioethanol that would help them to increase operations and lower production costs, reports Philstar.
Gerardo Tee, Ethanol Producers Association of the Philippines (EPAP) chairman, said there is a shortage of 500,000 metric tons (MT) of molasses to produce bioethanol.
“Government is allowing the importation of refined finished goods but we are urging the government to allow the importation of raw materials to have manufacturing value. There is a shortage of sugar supply and so is the shortage of molasses,” he said.
Molasses is a by-product obtained after the production of sugar and it is used by distilleries to produce alcohol from ethanol.
Taking steps to ensure domestic demand, the sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Board recently approved the importation of 440,000 MT of refined sugar.
The sugar production estimates have been lowered to 1.8 million MT by the SRA board for this crop year.
