Colombia: Biofuels Annual
Colombia recently increased their biofuel blend mandate to 10 percent for most of the country. The increase is aimed to tackle pollution problems in large metropolitan cities, achieve Colombia’s climate change commitments under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement COP21 and incentivize local production. In May 2017 the Colombian government lifted all restrictions on fuel ethanol imports as long as these imports comply with quality and carbon footprint standards that will allow the country to achieve its climate change commitments. Since mid-2017, the Colombian market has relied heavily on imports from the United States because of competitive prices and decreased domestic production. However, in the long-term Colombia’s carbon footprint standards could become a trade barrier for U.S. corn-based ethanol as the biofuel index quotient becomes more restrictive. Colombian biofuels production is expected to recover in 2018 because of the higher blend rate and normal weather conditions.
