Brazil President reaffirms lower biofuel content in diesel for 2022

In Brazil, Successful Farming reports that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro signed into law a measure to reduce the country’s mandatory biodiesel content in diesel to 10% for all of 2022, in a setback for powerful local biofuels and oilseeds processor lobbies.

Brazil was supposed to adopt a 14% biofuel mix in diesel from March 2022, but its National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) decided in late November to keep a 10% content due to high soybean prices and its potential impact on the final price of diesel.

In September, CNPE had already lowered the minimum biofuel content requirement to 10% from the 13% requirement initially planned for 2021.

Despite the CNPE’s decision, domestic biofuels and soybean crushers associations have lobbied against a reduction of the minimum biodiesel requirement, hoping that Bolsonaro would eventually reverse the measure.

Francisco Turra, board chairman of the Aprobio biofuels lobby, told Reuters earlier this month that the president would “certainly change his stance” as soon as he learned about the repercussions of the measure, while also expecting lawmakers of the biodiesel caucus to act on it.

Instead, the Bolsonaro administration confirmed on Friday that the biofuel content will be lowered to 10% throughout 2022, as fuel inflation has dented the president’s popularity.