By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, June 23: The federal government is studying the feasibility of implementing B50 biodiesel nationwide but the move would require significant investment to upgrade fuel blending depots nationwide.
According to Bernama, the Plantation and Commodities Ministry noted that higher biodiesel blend mandates would require extensive upgrading works at existing blending depots, making implementation more complex than previous biodiesel programmes.
The ministry disclosed this in a written parliamentary reply to Padang Terap MP Nurul Amin Hamid, who asked about the government’s long term strategy to expand biodiesel usage to B20 and B50 without affecting palm oil exports.
In its reply, the ministry assured that Malaysia currently possesses sufficient palm oil resources to support a further expansion of biodiesel use while continuing to fulfil export commitments. Based on projections for 2025, the country is expected to have a total palm oil supply of 22.76 million tonnes.
“Of the total supply, 15.27 million tonnes have been allocated to meet export demand, while 4.43 million tonnes are earmarked for domestic consumption across various sectors, including biodiesel production,” the ministry said.
While studies on B50 are ongoing, Putrajaya’s immediate focus remains on expanding the use of B30 biodiesel under the National Biodiesel Programme. A nationwide B30 rollout would require about 1.6 million tonnes of palm oil annually, accounting for roughly seven per cent of the country’s projected supply.
“This percentage is relatively small compared with the total available supply, demonstrating that the country has sufficient capacity to meet both export demand and domestic consumption simultaneously.
“Therefore, the expansion of biodiesel usage can proceed without affecting the country’s ability to meet demand for palm oil exports,” the ministry added.
Malaysia has already begun increasing biodiesel blend rates in stages, with Peninsular Malaysia transitioning from B10 to B15 this month as part of broader energy transition initiatives.
Meanwhile, B20 biodiesel has been introduced in selected areas including Sarawak, Labuan and Langkawi with implementation proceeding without significant operational issues.
The ministry added that biodiesel expansion is in line with the National Agricommodity Policy, National Transport Policy and National Energy Transition Roadmap, which targets the adoption of B30 biodiesel in the land transport sector by 2030. — DayakDaily
