Marialva plant will allow scale production of biodiesel

The beginning of the works in Marialva plantin the Northwest region, will allow scale production of biofuel in Paraná. The unit acquired by BSBIOS will begin to run in December this year in the paranaense town and will commence to produce in January 2010.

The chief executive officer Erasmo Carlos Battistella, asked support of the Secretaria da Agricultura e do Abastecimento (Seab) and the related technical assistance (Emater-PR) and research (Iapar-PR) companies to diversify the vegetable oil production in Paraná.

For the secretary of Agriculture, Valter Bianchini, BSBIOS run marks the entrance of Paraná in the age of biodiesel scale production, and this will be a production alternative to the family agriculture of the state. According to the secretary, Paraná has average grown area with soybean about 32 hectares per producer and more than a half its production is from family agriculture.

According to Battistella, the initial axle of biodiesel production in Marialva will be from soybean and canola. This base shall be gradually diversified hence it counts on the Paraná's government assistance. The businessman asked Seab's support in order to have the social stamp provided by the Ministério do Desenvolvimento Agrário (MDA). The stamp is provided to companies that prove to use 30% absorption of raw material from family agriculture.

The unit of Marialva will be the second to be implanted by group BSBIOS, which began its production of biodiesel in the town of Passo Fundo (RS). In Paraná, 120 direct and 3.000 indirect jobs shall be created. The next step will be the installation of the crushing grain unit to verticalize the production.

The technical director of Iapar, Arnaldo Colozzi, has made the technical-scientific information volume in development by the body available in order to enlarge the number of alternatives of vegetable oil plants that are more adaptable to growth in Paraná. He emphasized that the research body recently managed to get the establishment of rural zoning for canola and sunflower in the state.

According to Battistella, the preference of this company is for canola growth in the winter because it does not compete with soybean in the summer, besides being a good crop rotation alternative with wheat, the most grown cereal in the winter in Paraná. "The company prioritizes canola because, besides the market of biofuel, it is also aiming at the edible oils market", he explained.

BSBIOS will develop the integrated work system with family farmers, including providing canola seeds for growth, since it is one of the companies registered by the Ministry of Agriculture to import this input. The company has already made contact with the board of directors of the Federação dos Trabalhadores na Agricultura do Estado do Paraná (Fetaep) that will provide assistance to the producers organization. The production capacity of Marialva unit is 159 million liters per year and its commercialization will be accomplished via Petrobrás, to supply the internal market and exportation as well. The expectation, said Battistella, - is that the North region of Paraná becomes a bioenergy pole, since BSBIOS will work next to the production of ethanol.