The Argentinian Senate has approved a law to reduce the mandatory blending requirement for biofuels. More specifically, the share of biodiesel to be blended into diesel will be cut from the current 10% to 5%, which could drop to 3% in diesel for sale to the public. For gasoline, the 12% blending requirement will be maintained, but will be split to 6% for ethanol from sugar cane and 6% from corn (this share could eventually be halved to 3%). The text, which will be into force until 2030, had previously been adopted by the lower house of Congress. The authorities aim to keep motor fuel prices in check.
The share of biofuels in final consumption of road transport reached 7% in 2020, down from over 11% in 2019 (aroud 14% for diesel and 6% for gasoline). Argentina introduced mandatory biodiesel or ethanol blending in 2006. Since 2016, the mandatory blend increased to 10% for biodiesel and to 12% for bioethanol. Argentina is currently the world’s ninth-largest biofuel producer, with a production of 1.4 Mtoe in 2020 (-40% compared to 2019).