Economy

Kenya puts Brazil biofuel offer on the back burner

farm

A man harvests jatropha fruits, which are used in the production of biofuels. Brazil says Kenya is yet to follow up on its offer to support search for this type of fuel. FILE

The government is yet to follow up on an offer by Brazil to support Kenya’s search for biofuel energy solutions three years since the partnership was signed.

Brazil offered technical and financial support in a bid to ramp up local sources of alternative energy and reduce over-reliance on hydroelectric power generation.

“Brazil is still ready to offer that support but we are yet to be approached by the Kenyan government,” Brazil’s ambassador to Kenya Marcela Nicodemus said at the embassy in Nairobi on Thursday.

The envoy said the inaction could have arisen from Kenya trying to weigh the impact of competition for land between biofuel and food crops.

Brazil is a world leader in biofuel production technology thanks to its huge reserves of ethanol, an essential commodity for bio-energy production, something that has enabled the country to shield its economy from the turbulence of the petroleum market.

This comes even as the use of biodiesel is now gaining currency among countries since the fuel can be manufactured from readily available materials such as vegetable oils and animal fats. In addition, the fuel is safe, biodegradable and pollutes less than petroleum-based diesel.

Ms Nicodemus observed that Kenya had the potential to produce large scale biodiesel but should only start producing commercial biodiesel after attaining food security.

“There is no point in producing crops for biofuel when a lot of people don’t have food,” she said.

She was speaking at the announcement of the second edition of Brazilian Eastern Africa Expo targeting more investment opportunities in the region for business people from the South American country.

The three-day event starts on July 24 for three days and will attract more than 52 companies from Brazil keen to tap into Kenya’s agri-business, ICT, energy and infrastructure sectors.

Last year, the volume of trade between the two countries stood at about Sh25.1 billion ($250 million).

There have been, however, growing concerns that the balance of trade favoured Brazil. It majorly exports farm machinery and sugar while it imports fruits, vegetables and cut flowers from Kenya. 

Kenya has recently seen an upsurge in arrivals of foreign delegations keen on business opportunities. In the past one month there have been delegations from Morocco, United Arab Emirates and South Korea.

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