Government Sets Up Committee to Introduce Ethanol-Mixed Petrol in Local Market
The government has formed a committee to check if it’s possible to mix ethanol with petrol in the local market.
The committee, led by the Minister of Petroleum and including the Minister of Finance, the Minister of State for Finance, and the Secretary of the Petroleum Division, will make rules for blending ethanol. They will see what other countries do and review past tries in Pakistan. The Prime Minister wants the committee to finish its plans in one month.
But the oil business is unsure about this. People in the business say mixing ethanol with petrol won’t make money for local refineries or the sugar business that makes ethanol. They say other tries failed for the same reasons.
While it’s possible to mix ethanol with petrol, making it work money-wise is hard. Ethanol costs a lot on the world market, which makes it expensive for local refineries. And raising sugarcane to lower ethanol prices could hurt other crops.
Brazil mixes ethanol and petrol well because it makes lots of sugar. Doing the same in Pakistan is hard because of its economy and farms.
