Govt to assess viability of B50 biodiesel rollout

Plantation and commodities ministry says Malaysia has a strong supply base, with total palm oil supply estimated to reach 22.76 million tonnes.

The plantation and commodities ministry said it used the 2025 palm oil supply balance data as a reference in assessing the country’s ability to support expanded biodiesel usage, Bernama reported.

The ministry also said the data shows that Malaysia has a strong supply base, with total palm oil supply estimated to reach 22.76 million tonnes, comprising 1.71 million tonnes of preliminary stock, 20.28 million tonnes of production, and 0.77 million tonnes of imports.

“Of the total supply, 15.27 million tonnes are allocated to meet global export demand, while 4.43 million tonnes are used to meet domestic needs across various economic sectors, including the biodiesel sector,” it said in a written reply published on the Parliament website.

The ministry was responding to Nurul Amin Hamid (PN-Padang Terap), who asked about the government’s long-term plan to increase biodiesel usage to B20 and B50 without affecting the country’s palm oil export supply.

Malaysia entered a new phase of energy transition amid a global supply crisis, with the biodiesel blend rate in Peninsular Malaysia gradually raised from B10 to B15 starting this month. The move does not require engine modifications for most diesel vehicles.

B20 use was already introduced in several areas, including Langkawi, Labuan, and Sarawak, without any major issues regarding alleged engine damage.

The ministry said expanding biodiesel implementation to B30 is not expected to affect Malaysia’s palm oil export supply, given current production levels.

It noted that B30 implementation would require an estimated 1.6 million tonnes of palm oil annually, representing about 7% of the country’s total palm oil supply.

This percentage is relatively small compared with the total available supply, demonstrating that the country has sufficient capacity to meet both export demand and domestic consumption simultaneously, it said.

“Therefore, the expansion of biodiesel usage can proceed without affecting the country’s ability to meet demand for palm oil exports,” the ministry said.

The government’s long-term plan is to increase biodiesel usage to B30, as outlined in the National Agricommodity Policy and supported by other initiatives, including the National Transport Policy and the National Energy Transition Roadmap.

Under these plans, the National Biodiesel Programme will be expanded in phases nationwide, with the aim of achieving B30 implementation in the land transport sector by 2030.