Malaysia will raise its biodiesel mandate to 10 percent for the transport sector, and to 7 percent for the industrial sector beginning June, the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry said today.

Both programmes are expected to contribute to annual domestic consumption of crude palm oil by 709,000 tonnes, the ministry said in a statement.

The South-East Asian nation and world’s second largest producer of palm oil after Indonesia announced earlier it was committed to the B10 biodiesel programme despite a slump in global crude oil prices.

- Reuters