June 4, 2008

Brazil's president express support for biofuels

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday (June 4, 2008) defended biofuels, saying they could be an "important tool" against food insecurity.

"Biofuels are not bandits," he said, at the start of the UN food summit on spiraling prices. "To the contrary, if they are produced in a serious way they can become an important tool to lift the poorest countries out of food insecurity.

"We must remove the smokescreen of powerful lobbies that blame ethanol production for the rise in food prices," Lula said.

Lula added that there is no single reason for food inflation but it is due to a combination of factors, he said, adding that ethanol production is not a threat for the Amazonian forest and did not reduce the food supply.