Since 2002, bioethanol producers in China have benefitted from subsidies, as well as tax reductions or exemptions of VAT or import duties. These reductions and deductions have totalled approximately CNY 190 million, and the Ministry of Finance has provided CNY 2 billion in subsidies to cover losses.
The subsidy in 2006 was CNY 1373 per MT of fuel ethanol produced. Starting in 2002, most fuel ethanol produced was grain-based. However, a moratorium on such ethanol plants was imposed as of December 2006 by the NDRC and Ministry of Finance, lasting for a year and a half.
The government's policy was to substitute non-grain ethanol for grain ethanol, and not to compete with food requirements. IEA/IRENA Global Renewable Energy Policies and Measures Database © OECD/IEA and IRENA, [November 2020]