Thailand’s State-Owned PTT to Buy Palm Oil for Biodiesel

Thailand’s state-owned oil and gas company PTT Plc has agreed to buy 100,000 MT of crude palm oil (CPO) to be used as feedstock for biodiesel for export.  The move aimed to shore up prices and use up surplus stock, the Bangkok Post reported on March 14.  The government initiative was being introduced to use 400,000 MT of existing CPO stocks.  The country normally maintains a CPO stock of 250,000 MT/year and the Commerce Ministry had estimated that some 3 million MT of CPO would hit the market this year, up from 2.5 million MT in 2018, the report said.  
Last year’s volume had a left a surplus of 500,000 MT and the government had increased the methyl ester content of biodiesel to 20% or B20, as well as using CPO to generate electricity. Jariya Sutthichaiya, secretary general of the Office of Agricultural Economics said the National Oil Palm Policy Committee had also authorized the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) to increase the use of CPO for power generation at the Bang Pakong plant to 1,500 MT/month from 1,000 MT/month.