In a statement the Thai PM said, “The government will do anything it can to promote any fuel that we can produce ourselves.”

“Palm oil has a more promising future than rice as a fuel source. In the long run, palm oil will be more profitable than rice and have more security in terms of marketing,” added Thaksin.

The Thai PM outlined several steps to promote the use of such an alternative fuel, including proposing for an increase in the amount of land area to be made available for planting palm oil trees.

Aside from oil harvested from the trees, Thaksin also called for an increase in the use of natural gas and of gasohol, which a blend of gasoline and ethyl alcohol.