Thailand’s temporary excise cuts on B20 biodiesel and E20 gasohol have coincided with higher use of both blends, as officials seek to support crop prices and farmer incomes.
Energy officials cited by the Bangkok Post put average daily B20 consumption at 8.64 million liters from Oct. 28 to Nov. 4, up from 6.14 million liters from Oct. 1-27. That was a 41% increase. Average E20 use rose to 7.18 million liters per day from 6.02 million over the same comparison periods, a 19% gain.
The Cabinet approved the tax reductions on Oct. 27 for a three-month period. The cuts lower excise tax by 5.50 baht per liter for B20 and 5.60 baht per liter for E20. E20 gasohol contains 20% ethanol.
An Energy Ministry official said greater B20 use supports Thailand’s domestic palm-oil industry. Rising E20 consumption increases demand for cassava and molasses, which are used to produce ethanol, the official said. The government’s stated aims include using agricultural surpluses, stabilizing crop prices and sustaining farmer incomes, as well as reducing reliance on imported crude oil.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the tax reductions had shifted motorists’ fuel choices, the Bangkok Post reported. Anutin said earlier efforts to promote B20 and E20 had attracted little interest over more than a decade. The paper put the blends’ price advantage over conventional fuels at about 20%, compared with roughly 10% before the intervention.
The policy follows earlier discussion of excise relief as an emergency measure. EconoTimes’ coverage of Thailand’s oil-tax contingency cited a Bangkok Post report in which an anonymous energy official called tax cuts a last resort if oil prices kept rising toward US$200 a barrel. The current incentives are set to remain in place for three months.
