The country’s main chambers of agribusiness and renewable energy, the Argentine Chamber of Biofuels (CARBIO) and the Chamber of the Oilseed Industry of the Argentine Republic (CIARA), expressed their strong support for the National Senate to move forward as a priority with the consideration, committee report and subsequent half-sanction of the bill introduced by national senator Patricia Bullrich to establish a new regulatory framework for biofuels in Argentina.
For the agro-industrial complex located mainly in the Industrial Belt and Greater Rosario—where the world’s largest and most efficient soybean-crushing and biodiesel production hub is concentrated—the enactment of new legislation is urgent in order to leave behind a distortive scheme and provide predictability for capital investments.
12.5% blend, competitiveness versus diesel, and competition by 2030
In institutional statements, CARBIO president Luis Zubizarreta explained the technical and commercial viability of immediately raising the mandatory blend in the domestic market and projecting an orderly transition toward a free market:
“We see it as viable to raise the blend to 12.5%, given that competitive prices currently exist against imported diesel, and in addition the supply would be opened to free competition within a reasonable timeframe starting in 2030, with no fiscal cost, since any increase in biodiesel would result in better prices for soybean oil exports,” the executive explained.
The sector stresses that replacing imports of fossil fuel with domestically produced green energy not only saves key foreign currency for the Central Bank, but also improves the carbon footprint and makes use of the idle capacity installed at the Up River terminals.
30,000 jobs and lower prices for consumers
Zubizarreta highlighted the structural weight the activity has in Argentina’s real economy, emphasizing that openness and competition are the path to directly benefit the end user:
“The industry has been investing heavily for decades, generating more than 30,000 jobs, and is always open to dialogue on the basis of promoting competition, investment, employment and biodiesel production in a way that benefits the consumer by significantly lowering the price of biodiesel,” he underscored.
The Senate as a forum for consensus
Faced with the different positions that coexist on the map of refiners and biofuel producers at the federal level, the head of CARBIO reaffirmed the willingness to build agreements within the legislative framework:
“We have not reached formal agreements with any business sector, but we encourage ongoing dialogue. We are convinced that the Senate is the appropriate place to find regulatory solutions,” Zubizarreta concluded.