Conference BiodieselBR discussed challenges and perspectives of the sector

For the chief executive officer of BSBIOS, Erasmo Carlos Battistella, the agricultural development and new consuming markets are the two great challenges that demand the government, plants and researchers' attention. The sector of biodiesel is now, living one of its most optimistic moments. The industry, the one that has increased the most currently in Brazil, has been managing to get successive ranks of production and can transform Brazil that today is the second larger global producer in less than two years. Because of the new compulsory mixture of biodiesel in diesel has became official from January 2010, the sector inaugurates a new phase of expansion. In order to speak about this evolution, challenges and perspectives of this sector, expertise, businessmen and managers met in the end of October on the fifth edition of the BiodieselBR 2009 Conference held in Curitiba, at the Instituto Tecnológico do Paraná (Tecpar).

According to the Plano Decenal de Energia 2008-2017 of the Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (EPE), the mixture of 5% biodiesel will represent a yearly demand of 2.47 billion liters biodiesel, based on consuming projections of diesel. Nowadays, with capacity installed of 3.6 billion liters (from the plants authorized to sell), the industry does not want to become limited to the demand of B5. But, in order to advance, according to the director of the Renewable Energy Department of the Ministério de Minas e Energia, Ricardo Dornelles, it is necessary to change law 11.097/05 (which limited the mixture to 5%), have the engine guarantee from assemblers and, what is more complex, guarantee effectively the family agriculture's participation in the chain.

But the challenge that worries the most the sector nowadays is the offer of raw material for competitive prices. The industry needs to reduce the need for soybean oil, and improve the energetic plants balance, as well as the use of lower added-value industry waste.

For the chief executive officer of BSBIOS, Erasmo Carlos Battistella, the rural development demands much attention from the government, plants and researchers. "This is the great chain challenge. Plants must have more responsibility on the development of alternative cultures with farmers", but it needs the support of the Public Power and much assistance from research companies, therefore, besides the development and production of new crops it is necessary to development new consuming markets of Biodiesel, thus Brazil has an industry capacity of 3.6 billion liters per year and with new ongoing projects, we are not competitive in biodiesel exportation yet. For Univaldo Vedana, analyst of the biodiesel sector, if there is no effort to produce an alternative to soybean, the sector may become restricted to B10. Even with the exploration of pre-salt the federal government asserted that it will continue to prioritize the increase of renewable energy production. And that is not supposed to change because of the presidential election in 2010. "The program of biodiesel is a program of the state, not of the government. Given the potential of this sector for the nation development, I think it is difficult a government retreat in this area", evaluates Dornelles.