SINGAPORE – Myanmar plans to export jatropha-based biodiesel as it attempts to tap the growing market for biofuels, a senior Myanmar energy official told a seminar in Singapore on August 27.

“By this time next year we hope to have seven million acres (2.8 million hectares) of jatropha plantations in full swing and a large amount of biodiesel for export in the future,” said U Soe Myint, director general of the Energy Planning Department.

Two million hectares of jatropha crops can produce 1.2 million tonnes a year of jatropha crude, a similar product to crude palm oil.

“Myanmar’s requirements for biodiesel are minimal, but the jatropha project should earn some foreign exchange income,” U Soe Myint said.

The plantations will be run by Myanmar’s seven local state departments, rather than the central government, with each state having its own processing plants, he added.

“Malaysian and Indonesian companies are already in talks with people in the various states to set up processing plants, while the central government will be responsible for quality control,” U Soe Myint said. – Reuters