Consumers Association against using potatoes for biofuel

The Consumers Association on Sunday said it rejected the creation of biofuels from agricultural products such as potatoes, kolokassi and other products.

In an open letter sent to the House Energy Committee, the association said it rejected the use of certain agricultural products to make fuel because they needed watering, a high problem for Cyprus so other products that do not need so much water should be found for the production of biofuels, such as bushes and trees.

The association also called on the committee to ask the relevant ministry for scientific evidence that the suggested products can be used to produce fuel, as at the last committee meeting on the subject they failed to do so.

Using potatoes or kolokassi would have a detrimental effect of consumers and they would have to pay three times the market price for any fuel, the association said. In addition, water and product prices would also rise.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.