Sudan, angling to become Africa's leading exporter of ethanol, has sent to the European Union its first shipment of the bio-fuel, an official with the state-owned Kenana company said on Dec. 28.
"The first cargo of five million liters of ethanol was exported yesterday. It left for (the Dutch port of) Rotterdam and is intended for the European Union," said Kenana sales manager Majdi Hassan.
Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir announced last year that the company, which produces sugar and molasses, would oversee a project to lead Africa in bio-fuel production.
The price of the shipment was $3.3 million, at $660 a cubic meter, but the price of further shipments would vary depending on the market, Hassan said.
Kenana's plant, located in the White Nile State south of Khartoum, was built by the Brazilian ethanol supplier Dedini.
Hassan said negotiations were ongoing with European companies for the sale of Sudanese ethanol.
The plant can produce 65 million liters a year with plans to increase production to 200 million liters "in three years," Hassan said.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
