brazil-305531_1280

(NDAgConnection.com) – Brazil’s National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) decided the mandatory blend of biodiesel in diesel will be kept at 10% until Mar. 31, 2023, the Mines and Energy Ministry said on Monday.

According to Reuters, from April on, the mix requirement will be increased to 15%, the ministry said in a statement, pointing out that Brazil’s next government which takes office in January could change the decision.

CNPE also decided that biodiesel produced by “any technological route of production” may be part of the mixture, which could include Petrobras’ (PETR4.SA) R5 diesel, a fuel co-processed with vegetable oil in a 95%-5% ratio.

Brazil’s oil, gas and biofuel regulator ANP would first have to approve the biodiesel used in the blend. Around 70% of the country’s biodiesel is produced from soy oil, which is obtained after grain crushers process the beans.

With a 15% mandate being adopted as of April, the total soybean demanded for biodiesel would rise to about 30 million tonnes in 2023.