Jakarta, July 26 -- Eliza Mardian, an economist at the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia, said around one million tons of molasses could potentially be utilized for bioethanol production.

"Total national molasses production is around 1.9 million tons per year. Of that amount, only 900,000 tons have been utilized, leaving another one million tons with strong potential for further use," she told ANTARA on Sunday.

However, she noted that most molasses is produced outside Java, while processing facilities are concentrated on the island, resulting in higher logistics costs.

Mardian also highlighted the country's capacity to produce fuel-grade ethanol (FGE), or ethanol with a purity level above 99 percent that is suitable for bl...