MEXICO CITY, Oct 21: Mexico plans to wean itself off costly gasoline imports by boosting ethanol output with a government programme of incentives for the chemical and farming sectors, Energy Minister Fernando Canales said on Friday.

Despite being a major producer of crude oil and supplier to the United States, Mexico has to import about a quarter of its gasoline due to low refining capacity. It sends heavy crude to US refineries and buys back fuel.

Canales said the planned government programme would provide incentives to the chemical industry and the farming sector to transform sugar, corn and other grains into ethanol.

"The business opportunities in this field are enormous," Canales told a chemical industry conference.—Reuters