The Wall Street Journal Quotes Experts on Food versus Fuel Issue

THE FOLLOWING QUOTES WERE PUBLISHED IN THE MARCH 24, 2008 EDITION OF THE WJS

from "As Biofuels Catch On, Next Task Is to Deal With Environmental, Economic Impact"

Merrill Lynch Commodity Strategist Francisco Blanch says that without biofuels, which can be refined to produce fuels much like the ones made from petroleum, oil prices would be even higher than they are now. He says that oil and gasoline prices would be about 15 percent higher if biofuel producers weren't increasing their output.

Fatih Birol, chief economist of the Paris-based International Energy Agency, says biofuels are playing a critical role in satisfying world demand. He said it would be much more difficult to balance global oil markets without biofuel producers.