Brazil and Britain will jointly develop a project to produce ethanol from sugar canes as a fuel in Africa, ministers from the two countries said on Tuesday.

Brazilian Development Minister Luiz Furlan and visiting British Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Alistair Darling told a news conference that a Britain-Brazil Trade Committee would present a proposal within 90 days on deriving ethanol from sugar canes.

Furlan emphasized the need to "dispel the myth" that ethanol could damage motors.

Darling said it was very important to reduce dependency on fossil fuels, which were blamed by many for climate change.

Furlan said the idea had been discussed by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on the sidelines of the recent Group of Eight (G8) meeting in the Russian city of St. Petersburg.

Following a feasibility study, either South Africa or Mozambique would host the processing plant, where sugar cane production was commercially viable.

At the press conference, Furlan also demonstrated a dual-fuel vehicle made by Brazil that works with either gasoline or ethanol.

Vehicles using ethanol as some or all of their fuel make up 60 percent of Brazil's auto market.

Source: Xinhua