Enso to buy 120,000 tons of rape to process as biofuel

Austrian group Enso is looking to buy 120,000 tons of rape worth euro 20 million from Lublin farmers in 2004. The group wants to produce esters for biofuels and animal feed additives. "Will we sign initial, long-term agreements with Lublin-based farmers for rape deliveries," said Sylwester Andrzejak, an Enso representative. The company specializes in alternative sources of energy and the production of environmental protection equipment. Enso expects that local governments will help organize farmers and warehouses so that processing can begin just after the 2004 harvest. Currently 100,000 tons of rape are being planted in the Lublin region, while Enso is wants to buy 120,000 tons. Enso is setting up a new company in Poland to run the initiative. Shareholders will include foreign companies and the local government of Lublin, which will make a non-cash contribution of land, a production hall and necessary infrastructure. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B5) P.W.