Astana considers it imperative to increase its share of the global market for biofuels, announced the Agriculture Ministry’s department of strategy of agriculture development director, Berik Ospanov, as reported by Kazakhstan Today. “Kazakhstan, with its surplus of grain and vast potential in the form of unused agricultural lands, needs to ensure its role as an important actor in the world biofuel market,” the news source quoted Ospanov as saying. Pointing to International Energy Agency forecasts, he stressed that global biofuel production levels are expected to double by 2012.  He added that the basic materials for the production of biofuels will be corn, wheat, oil seed, soy, palm oil, and sugarcane. 

This information was originally published on January 16, 2008. (www.kz-today.kz)