La industria de biocombustibles en Uruguay: situación actual y perspectivas

Abstract

The paper studies the present situation of the biofuels industry in Uruguay and its possible perspectives. The development of this type of industry is a feasible option for the long run, in order to decrease the deep concentration of the energetic matrix and the high dependency from imported energetic sources. Nowadays, these activities are in the initial stages in the fields of production, regulation and promotion. Therefore, the medium and long run perspectives show certain degree of uncertainty, with positive factors but also limitations. Among the good aspects are the existence of natural comparative advantages and the legal framework. The more noticeable limitations are the problems in the availability of raw materials and the lack of development of the technological and logistic activities related with the production and trading processes. Besides this, other important issues are the institutional organization of the market and its operation, the configuration of precise and permanent rules of the game, and the deep exploration of possible regional complementarities, specially with Brazil. The idea is to benefit from the improvements in the scale and technology of these agroindustrial chains.biofuels, energy matrix, biodiesel, ethanol, biomass, MERCOSUR.