Mexico, a big producer of petroleum, could be getting into the biodiesel business.
This story from Reuters says a new biofuel law that kicks in next year will encourage the production of biodiesel from crops like beets, yucca root, and sorghum, possibly solving some of the food-versus-fuel debate Mexico has been going through:
“Mexico could develop biodiesel faster than ethanol,” said Agriculture Minister Alberto Cardenas at a news conference.
“We have to seek out other sources for biofuel to differentiate ourselves from Brazil and the U.S.,” said Cardenas.
The law, passed last week, offers unspecified support to farmers that grow crops for the production of any renewable fuel.
Cardenas said a biodiesel industry would help the country’s poorest farmers, and that none of the crops Mexico currently grows for food would be replaced with biofuel plants.
No estimate of how much biodiesel Mexico could produce.