Biofuels output will grow by 425,000 barrels a day in 2008, a 57% increase from a year ago, according to the International Energy Agency in its monthly report.
As a result, biofuels will account for the majority (63%) of fuel supply growth from non-OPEC countries by the end of the year, and the IEA predicts the global production of crop-based fuel will reach more than 1.5 million barrels a day.
Total non-OPEC supply growth this year is expected to average 680,000 barrels a day, compared with 550,000 barrels a day last year, the report said.
"While it seems unlikely that biofuel targets will be reversed in the near future, it is sobering to realize the amount of oil that would be needed to replace them," the IEA said. "Just offsetting the biodiesel and ethanol added to the U.S. and European markets since 2005 would require around 1 million barrels a day of additional crude oil supplies to be processed."
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