HARARE – Zimbabwe’s energy regulator on Thursday announced a reduction in mandatory blending of petrol and ethanol owing to reduced sugarcane harvesting in Chisumbanje.
The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) announced in a brief statement that “the blending of anhydrous ethanol with unleaded petrol has been reduced from E20 to E10.”
Green Fuel in Chisumbanje, Manicaland Province, is a monopoly producer of ethanol which petroleum companies must by law blend with petrol before it is sold on the open market.
The rainy season coupled with a huge demand for fuel annually forces the company to reduce production owing to the inaccessibility of sugarcane fields by its machinery.
Last year, blending went down to E5 from E10, before being raised to E20 earlier this year when production improved.
The broke government says blending petrol with ethanol reduces the fuel import bill and grows the fuel pool, but some motorists complain that blended fuel does not last and damages engines.
Despite the fuel blending programme, Zimbabweans spend several hours daily in fuel queues as the country does not have sufficient foreign currency reserves to import fuel in sufficient quantities.
The government has been recently forced to allow some petroleum companies which import fuel without recourse to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to sell in foreign currency to ease inconveniences for visitors and tourists.
