WITH vegetable oils finding a new use as car fuel, we may end up facing a food shortage or paying more for food. Soaring demand for corn, sugar cane, rapeseed and palm oil to make biofuels has driven up prices of these crops, and that of food made from them.
In January, Mexicans took to the streets when the price of tortillas tripled to 15 pesos (RM4.90) a kg because of soaring corn prices. The Government intervened and capped prices.
 Raw material: In the United States, | Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of sugar, converts half of its crop into ethanol for cars, contributing to a doubling of the world sugar price over the past two years. The US Department of Agriculture last month warned that record high corn prices, caused in part by the crop’s diversion into ethanol production, is likely to produce a sudden drop in the supply of meat. The US accounts for 40% of global corn harvests, thus higher corn prices there will send ripples worldwide. Locally, soaring palm oil prices have led to a shortage of the 1kg plastic-packed cooking oil. Last month, re-packers discontinued that packaging, stating that the government-controlled price of RM2.50 could not cover production costs. Some traders even sold the 17kg tin of cooking oil above the ceiling price of RM42. The Government has since forced 4,100 estate owners to pay cess from June to May 2008, based on oil palm harvests, to compensate the country’s 300 refineries and 30 re-packers. |
Lester Brown, president of the Washington-based Earth Policy Institute, fears the impact on edible oil supply and prices if all the world’s vegetable oil was turned into biofuel.
He says, for instance, that the grain required to fill a SUV (sports utility vehicle) tank with ethanol could feed one person for a year. “This will set up a global competition between rich car users and poor food consumers,” writes the well-respected conservationist.
In order to reach the European Union’s target of 5.75% biofuel use by 2010, nearly 20% of all agricultural land in Europe would have to grow rapeseed or sugar beet. This means food crops would be replaced with fuel crops.
Indonesia and Malaysia’s production of palm products last year provided the total calorific requirements of 300 million people – imagine the impact on food security should the oil be used to power cars.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Michael Dosim Lunjew says Malaysia can allocate 6 million tonnes of crude palm oil annually for biodiesel production.
“This will not affect supplies for food since the current annual production of 16 million tonnes can go up to 20 million tonnes,” he assures
There are views that the world will never plant enough crops to meet its fuel needs.
Faizal Parish, director of Kuala Lumpur-based Global Environment Centre, says current vegetable oil production can only meet 3% of global fuel demand.
He believes keeping the right tyre pressure and maintaining car engines are better options to save fuel.
“Switching to biofuel is not going to solve the problem. We must find a solution rather than burning cooking oil,” he says.