The Philippines will produce 21,400 cubic meters of fuel-grade ethanol over July-September, up 52.8% from the 14,007 cu m produced over April-June, a Department of Energy forecast released Thursday showed.
Producers have committed to supplying 9,200 cu m for July, and the DOE projects the production volume for August at 7,600 cu m and for September at 4,600 cu m.
The data did not measure consumption or imports, or provide a domestic output figure for January-March.
Philippine ethanol producers have been required to submit planned production volumes of fuel-grade ethanol to the DOE since December 2011.
The DOE's National Biofuels Board then allocates each oil company operating in the country a proportion of the output, called a local monthly allocation or LMA, which reflects each oil company's share of the market.
All gasoline sold in the Philippines has been blended with 10% ethanol since February 6.
Traders active in the Philippines said the increase in local ethanol output would result in a decline in import volumes, as oil companies in the country are required to prioritize indigenous ethanol over imports.
The Philippines imported 399,558 barrels (63,530 cu m) of fuel-grade ethanol over January-March, up 57.8% year on year and up 2.5% from the previous quarter, according to data released earlier Thursday by the DOE.
