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JAPANESE firm Toyo Engineering Corp. will complete
its feasibility study on an integrated coco methyl ester
manufacturing plant it plans to set up in the Ilocos region.
Carlos B. Carpio, Philippine
Coconut Authority deputy administrator, said TEC is looking at
developing new areas where coconut can be planted to supply the
feedstock requirement of the CME plant.
He said the entire output of the
plant will be shipped to Japan and supply the growing demand for
biofuels of the country’s automotive and other fuel-dependent
industries.
“Its [Japan’s] diesel
requirement is 40 billion liters a year and [the country] plans for
a CME blend of 5 percent,” Carpio said.
TEC earlier reported it may
require 600,000 hectares of coconut farm preferably in Pangasinan,
Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte and La Union.
--Chino S. Leyco
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