Calls from Bioenergy Australia for more ethanol-industry support
Bioenergy Australia is calling on the federal government to support, and for sanitiser manufacturing businesses to continue to buy, Australian ethanol.
As supply lines from China begin to reopen as lockdown measures are lifted, cheaper imports are beginning to enter the Australian market again.
Economist and Bioenergy chairman Dr John Hewson, a former Liberal Party leader, said: “At a time like this we need to focus on supporting our domestic industries.
“Ethanol is part of the emerging biofuel industry in our country, which can provide large growth areas for jobs in regional Australia moving forward. The Australian ethanol producers were here when ethanol supply from China shut down for 40 days and we want them to be here now and even stronger into the future, especially in the face of potential future waves of the virus that may again disrupt global supply chains.”
Bioenergy Australia CEO Shahana McKenzie added: “There was an estimated 600% surge in demand for ethanol during the first stages of the crisis when Chinese and US supply chains were shutdown. The Australian ethanol industry - with only three major facilities in the country – made a colossal pivot to rapidly scale up and adapt current ethanol production to help fuel the fight against COVID-19 and protect lives.”
Bioenergy Australia is urging government, industry and business to support local producers, such as family-owned Australian Manildra Group, which is making substantial investments to expand operations to be able produce more ethanol for Australia’s needs.
Manildra Group has just announced the expansion of their state-of-the-art distillery, to produce an additional 90 million litres of ethanol for pharmaceutical and beverage industries.
Manildra Group managing director John Honan, explained their Nowra-based distillery has been operating around-the-clock to increase production of pharmaceutical-grade ethanol, the active ingredient in hand sanitisers and surface disinfectants.
“The expansion of the distillery will provide 100 or more jobs during construction as well as provide additional ongoing employment opportunities at Manildra Group’s ethanol plant. This further investment will provide a much-needed boost to the community of Nowra and the New South Wales economy,” said Mr Honan.
As supply lines from China begin to reopen as lockdown measures are lifted, cheaper imports are beginning to enter the Australian market again.
Economist and Bioenergy chairman Dr John Hewson, a former Liberal Party leader, said: “At a time like this we need to focus on supporting our domestic industries.
“Ethanol is part of the emerging biofuel industry in our country, which can provide large growth areas for jobs in regional Australia moving forward. The Australian ethanol producers were here when ethanol supply from China shut down for 40 days and we want them to be here now and even stronger into the future, especially in the face of potential future waves of the virus that may again disrupt global supply chains.”
Bioenergy Australia CEO Shahana McKenzie added: “There was an estimated 600% surge in demand for ethanol during the first stages of the crisis when Chinese and US supply chains were shutdown. The Australian ethanol industry - with only three major facilities in the country – made a colossal pivot to rapidly scale up and adapt current ethanol production to help fuel the fight against COVID-19 and protect lives.”
Bioenergy Australia is urging government, industry and business to support local producers, such as family-owned Australian Manildra Group, which is making substantial investments to expand operations to be able produce more ethanol for Australia’s needs.
Manildra Group has just announced the expansion of their state-of-the-art distillery, to produce an additional 90 million litres of ethanol for pharmaceutical and beverage industries.
Manildra Group managing director John Honan, explained their Nowra-based distillery has been operating around-the-clock to increase production of pharmaceutical-grade ethanol, the active ingredient in hand sanitisers and surface disinfectants.
“The expansion of the distillery will provide 100 or more jobs during construction as well as provide additional ongoing employment opportunities at Manildra Group’s ethanol plant. This further investment will provide a much-needed boost to the community of Nowra and the New South Wales economy,” said Mr Honan.
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