Cuba condemns ethanol production

Cuban officials said the island is modernising its sugar industry but that plans to increase ethanol production have been scaled back.



Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has reportedly denounced the use of food for fuel.



The director of the sugar ministry\'s Sugar Cane Derivatives Research Institute, Luis Galvez, said as sugar output increases, so will derivatives.



He said that would not be done at the expense of food.



Two years ago, he had reportedly been a lot more enthusiastic about Cuba\'s ethanol future.



However, that is said to have been before Fidel Castro warned that using sugar and corn to produce the biofuel ethanol was a step in the wrong direction.



Mr. Castro called it a crime against humanity and warned that billions might starve as a result.