A cabinet minister says Green Fuel (Pvt) Limited, stuck with 10 million liters of ethanol, should consider exporting its product as Zimbabwe is not yet ready to pass a law compelling motorists to use fuel blended with the locally produced ethanol.
Energy Minister Elton Mangoma told VOA Monday that Green Fuel has not responded to some issues like pricing raised by an inter-ministerial task force charged with finding a solution to the disposal of the ethanol which fetches $1.10 in Zimbabwe compared to international prices ranging from 72 cents to 75 cents.
Mangoma said the government was worried that Green Fuel has not made any commitments in terms of converting vehicles to be compatible with the E-10 blended fuel introduced in the local market last year.
He said the local ethanol producer which recently sent home more than 4,500 workers should start selling its ethanol to international buyers.
“Green Fuel still needs to respond to a lot of issues before we think about introducing any regulations dealing with the blending of fuel with ethanol,” Mangoma said.
Green Fuel general manager Graeme Smith said they were co-operating with the inter-ministerial tasks, adding his company will soon start exporting the ethanol if government does not pass a law making it compulsory for motorists to use blended fuel.
“We had not pursued the export option because when the project was approved by government we were given the assurance that the mandatory blending will be put in place to ensure that it will succeed,” said Smith.
