S.Africa sugar industry pushes for biofuels policy

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African sugar producers will be loathe to invest in biofuels until the government finalises a long-delayed biofuel policy, the chairman of an industry body said on Monday.

Rodger Stewart, chairman of the South African Sugar Asociation (SASA), said until there was a definitive policy on biofuels the local industry would invest little in ethanol production.

South African officials have released draft biofuels policy documents with proposals on issues like ethanol and biodiesel blends but an apparent wrangle over the more contentious matter of state subsidies has stalled a final policy.