The planned increase in biodiesel blend will proceed as early as the first quarter of 2026, after being postponed from its scheduled hike in October due to higher costs of coconut oil, according to the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).

PCA Administrator and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dexter Buted told reporters last week that the National Biofuel Board (NBB) is currently evaluating the market situation to determine when the suspension of the increase will be lifted.

NBB suggested in May the suspension of the implementation of the four-percent and five-percent biodiesel blend, or B4 and B5, from its scheduled hike on Oct. 1, 2025, and Oct. 1, 2026, respectively.

Upon NBB’s recommendation, the Department of Energy (DOE) postponed the increase through an advisory last month.

NBB, an interagency recommendatory body headed by the DOE Secretary, is mandated to assess and recommend appropriate market interventions to help stabilize the price of biodiesel and its feedstock, including coconut oil.

“Upon the recommendation of NBB, the DOE shall issue the corresponding directive to resume the upward adjustment in the mandated biofuel blend,” the advisory read.

Other members of NBB include the secretaries of trade and industry, science and technology, agriculture, finance, and labor and employment. Administrators of PCA and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) are also members.

“We are reviewing the resolution and I think in the first quarter of 2026, we are ready to implement [B4],” said Buted on the sidelines of the 2025 Coconut Philippines Trade Fair.

At the time of NBB’s decision, coconut oil prices rose to over $3,000 per metric ton (MT) due to limited supply in the world market. As the main feedstock, this would influence a spike in coco methyl ester (CME), which is the raw material blended with diesel to make biofuel.

Buted said government intervention is playing a key role in keeping the country’s domestic coconut supply strong and prices stable.

He said the government has increased its allocation for PCA’s fertilization program to ₱1.8 billion this year from the previous funding of around ₱150 million.

From fertilizing up to three million coconut trees last year, PCA can now reach about 45 million trees, increasing the yield to at least 11 nuts per tree annually.

“If we apply fertilizer, our production will increase. And that will be enough to project what we need in the biodiesel,” said Buted.

He said increasing the biodiesel mandate by one percent would require one billion nuts.

While taking into consideration potential weather shocks and pests, PCA is estimating the production of up to 19 billion nuts this year.

Last year, the DOE ordered the increase in biodiesel blend to B3 in accordance with Republic Act (RA) No. 9367, or the Biofuels Act of 2006. The government implemented B1 in 2007 and then later adjusted to B2 in 2011.

Under the Biofuels Act, all liquid fuels for motors and engines must contain locally sourced biofuels.

The mandate aims to reduce the country’s dependence on imported fuels, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and boost the biodiesel and bioethanol sectors.