Given the French government’s new target to significantly increase the use of biofuels by 2010, an increasing amount of land looks likely to be turned over to the production of oilseed rape. This has sparked fears in the food industry of spiralling production costs.
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France’s plan to substitute 7% of its fossil fuel needs from biofuels by 2010 has put food industry buyers head to head with the new demand for energy crops. This year, more oilseed rape will be grown for fuel than food.
The current target means that by 2010, just over 10% of the country’s total arable land will be needed to grow oilseed rape and make methyl ester, an authorised diesel additive. This year fuel containing up to 10% methyl ester will be sold on forecourts, with a pro-rata saving on the country’s pollution tax at the pump.
France uses three times more diesel than petrol. Oilseed rape can generate 15 hectolitres of methyl ester per hectare, compared to 180 hectolitres for bioethanol from sugar beet.
Current production capacity for methyl ester is just over 1m tonnes a year, but by 2010 this will have tripled to 3.6m tonnes with 15 new installations coming onstream.
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By GlobalDataThis new surge will hit animal feed prices, as well as increasing the cost of crops for human consumption.
