SOYABEANS
20 A tale of two giants Brazil and the USA are the world’s top suppliers of soyabeans. What does the future hold for these two giants?
Impact of climate change
South America is a leading producer of vegetable oils but climate change has affected production and yields
26 A new perspective on enzymatic biodiesel
The need to source lower value feedstocks for biodiesel and renewable diesel is making the enzymatic biodiesel process a viable and economic technology
29 Global round-up of news
OFI reports on some of the latest projects, technology and process news and developments around the world
31 Soya in focus in US trade war
As the world’s largest importer of edible oils and the top soyabean oil consumer, China holds a significant position in global vegetable oil trade, highlighted by its current conflict with the USA over trade tariffs
Surfactants/China 33 Surfactants market outlook
China is a major producer and consumer of surfactants, with rising incomes and changing lifestyles driving increased consumption of personal care products, household cleaners and detergents, as well as growing industrial applications
China, Canada announce retaliatory duties on USA
lanches probe into US
production of
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The Trump effect
It has only been some three months since Donald Trump started his second term as US president but the impact of his trade and political policies are already reverberating around the world.
For the oils and fats sector, new US tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico – and reciprocal measures from these countries – will have a major effect on the soyabean and rapeseed markets (see p4).
The Canola Council of Canada says 25% US tariffs on Canadian products will have a devasting impact on its canola farmers, crushing and exports. And China’s retaliatory 15% tariffs on a range of US agricultural products – said to cover US$21bn worth of goods including soyabeans, wheat, corn and beef – will hit US soyabean farmers.
Although China has reduced its dependence on US soyabeans in recent years, it still bought some US$11bn worth of them in 2024, about half of the US export total, World Grain wrote on 3 March. Who will blink first? China with its heavy dependence on soyabean imports for food and feed (see p31), or American farmers who are a significant constituency for the US president.
The shipping industry is also feeling the Trump effect, with the US Trade Representative Office proposing million dollar fees on Chinese vessels entering US ports and Trump welcoming the sale by Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holding of its ports unit to a US consortium (see p14). The unit operates two major ports at either end of the Panama Canal, which Trump had vowed to “take back”. The president has previously complained about the presence of Chinese companies at the waterway, which is vital to the US economy and key to its exports to Asia, including of US grain and soyabeans.
Another critical area of Trump influence is the environment. On his first day in office on 20 January, Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the USA from the Paris Agreement on climate change. While it will take a year before the country is officially out of the pact, the impact of the withdrawal and Trump’s pledge to “drill, baby, drill” will discourage some countries from putting climate change mitigation at the top of their agendas.
In the USA, the future of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is also more uncertain, as the new Clean Fuel Production Credit (CFPC) programme to replace biofuel tax credits still needs to be finalised by the Trump administration. If history is any indicator, Trump is more likely to scale back the CFPC or shift support towards fossil fuels.
Trump’s temporary suspension of foreign and military aid to Ukraine to force peace talks with Russa may also bring an end to their war closer, although at what cost to the leading sunflowerseed producer is unclear.
And finally, will tallow and animal fats get a boost from the appointment of Robert F Kennedy Jr as US Health and Human Service Secretary? Kennedy has been a vocal critic of seed oils – such as canola, soyabean and sunflower oils – claiming they contribute to chronic diseases, and has advocated for their removal from the American diet.
With such wide-ranging effects in such a short space of time since Trump took office, the only certain thing that can be said about his second term as US president is that there will be more uncertainty for the market to factor in.
Serena Lim, OFI Editor serenalim@quartzltd.com
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IN BRIEF
CHINA: China has set higher grain and oilseed production targets and increased its 2025 budget for storing agricultural commodities in a bid to secure its long-term food security, Reuters wrote on 6 March.
In a 5 March announcement, China set a production target of around 700M tonnes for 2025, compared with its 650M tonne 2024 target after a record 706.5M tonne harvest last year.
The country has also raised its 2025 budget for stockpiling grain, edible oils and other materials by 6.1% compared to the previous year to CNY131.66bn (US$18.12bn). In addition, China planned to increase construction and improve the connectivity of storage facilities for grain, cotton, sugar, meat and fertiliser, the report said.
The world’s leading importer of agricultural goods for its 1.4bn people, China imported more than 157M tonnes of grains and soyabeans in 2024 but was aiming to cut its dependence on supplies that mainly came from Brazil and the USA, the report said.
According to customs data, the total value of China’s agriculture imports in 2024 dropped by 8% to US$215bn due to increased domestic agricultural output.
The country imported around 80% of its soyabean needs, and said it would expand coverage of full-cost and production income insurance for soyabeans, to encourage farmers to plant the oilseed. It would also continue efforts to lower the use of soyabean meal in livestock feed. The use of low-protein animal feed or alternative meals such as rapeseed or cotton had been explored for several years to reduce China’s demand for imported soyabeans, the report said.
China, Canada announce retaliatory duties on USA
China and Canada have imposed retaliatory tariffs on the USA in response to US President Donald Trump's plan to impose sweeping 25% tariffs on goods from the two countries – first announced in February – along with a doubling of 10% additional tariffs on China to 20%.
China’s countermeasures, which came into effect on 10 March, include 10% tariffs on US soyabeans, pork and beef, as well as duties on oilseeds and vegetable oils.
Canada announced 25% tariffs against US$30bn worth of US goods including vegetable oils and margarine, effective 4 March. The country also plans to apply tariffs on additional imports from the USA on 2 April, following a public comment period.
The 2 April is when the US tariffs on Canada and Mexico are set to take effect, following a one-month delay announced by Trump on 6 March when he exempted anything falling under the existing US, Mexico and Canada (USMCA) trade agreement.
China, Mexico and Canada are among the USA’s biggest trading partners, with the three countries making up more than 40% of US imports last year, according to the BBC.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said trying to exert maximum pressure on China
was “a miscalculation and a mistake”, CNN Business reported on 4 March. “If the USA... persists in waging a tariff war ... the Chinese side will fight them to the bitter end," he said.
On 12 March, the USA also imposed tariffs of up to 25% on imports of steel and aluminium from the EU. In response, the European Commission (EC) said it would introduce countermeasures in two stages. It would reintroduce measures put in place during the previous Donald Trump presidency on 1 April and implement new tariffs by 13 April. The measures include tariffs on steel and aluminium, textiles and agricultural products including poultry, beef and vegetable oils and fats.
"As the US are applying tariffs worth US$28bn, we are responding with countermeasures worth €26 billion," EC President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on 12 March.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said the escalating trade tariffs would hit world growth and raise inflation, halving its growth outlook for Canada, the BBC reported on 17 March. Canada's growth rate would slow to 0.7% this year and in 2026, compared with its previous forecast of 2% for both years, the OEDC said. The OECD also downgraded growth in the USA, with a figure of 2.2% for this year, down from previous forecasts of 2.4%.
China imposes tariffs on Canadian canola
China announced on 8 March that it was imposing 100% tariffs on Canadian rapeseed oil and meal, leaving the country and new prime minister Mark Carney to juggle trade wars on two major fronts, CEO Morning Brief reported on 10 March.
The Chinese measure, effective on 20 March, was in response to Canadian tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, steel and aluminium introduced last year, the report citing Bloomberg said.
Canada is also facing 25% tariffs on its exports to the USA, including canola seed, oil and meal (see above).
“Canadian canola farmers are facing an unprecedented situation of trade uncertainty from our two largest export markets only weeks before planting begins,” Rick White, the president and CEO of the Canadian Canola Growers
Association, said on 8 March.
China is Canada’s leading export destination for canola, a specific variety of rapeseed with lower levels of erucic acid and glucosinolates.
Although China’s move was sweeping, no tariffs were imposed on canola seed, which China imported in larger volumes than its oil and meal, CEO Morning Brief said. China also had an ongoing
anti-dumping probe into Canadian rapeseed imports, leaving open the possibility of further measures.
China’s inbound shipments of rapeseed totalled 6.39M tonnes last year, almost all of which came from Canada, the report said. According to Chinese customs data, China also imported about 2.74M tonnes of canola meal last year, with the USA as the top supplier.
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IN BRIEF
UKRAINE: The total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine is estimated at US$524bn over the next decade, almost three times the estimated nominal GDP of Ukraine for 2024, according to a joint report by the government of Ukraine, World Bank Group, the European Commission (EC) and the United Nations.
Rebuilding the country's agriculture sector following Russia's invasion in 2022 was expected to cost more than US$55bn, while total losses suffered by the sector was estimated at around US$80bn, the updated Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA4) published on 25 February said.
Ukraine is a leading exporter of wheat and corn, and the world's top supplier of sunflowerseed, meal and oil. A US Department of Agriculture World Agricultural Supply and Demand report projected the country producing 12.9M tonnes of sunflowerseed in the 2024/25 marketing year, down 16.7% from a year ago.
The country remains the EU’s leading sunflowerseed oil supplier, according to latest EC figures, reported by Germany’s Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants on 13 February.
From 1 July 2024 to 2 February 2025, the EU-27 imported around 1.24M tonnes of sunflowerseed oil. Ukraine delivered 1.17M tonnes of this oil, represented a 94% market share.
Lithuania halts transit of Belarusian rapeseed oil
Belarusian rapeseed oil shipments through Lithuania have been suspended following media investigations which revealed rapeseed from Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine had been processed in Belarus and sold to the EU, stateowned public broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) wrote on 19 February.
Thousands of tonnes of rapeseed oil processed by Belarusian oils and fats producer Agroprodukt have been passing through Lithuania by rail, according to a 19 February report by Lithuanian news website 15min.lt in conjunction with the Belarusian Investigative Center (BIC), Latvian television channel TV3 and Ukrainian investigative project Skhemy.
LTG Cargo, the freight arm of state-owned railway company Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LTG), said it had launched an internal investigation and stopped rapeseed oil shipments after the media started looking into
the origin of Agroprodukt’s raw materials, LRT wrote. As a result, eight wagons of rapeseed oil heading to the port of Klaipėda from Belarus were detained at Lithuania’s Kena checkpoint in the week prior to the report.
Almost 50,000 tonnes of Agroprodukt oil transited Lithuania in 2024, according to LTG Cargo data. However, this figure was likely to be much higher, with three companies – Gen Cargo, Baltijos Pervežimai and Baltic Cargo Agent – involved in the shipment of these cargoes in Lithuania last year, leaked data from Belarusian Railways show.
Belarusian oil has been imported by the EU without restriction until the European Commission introduced duties on EU imports of grain, oilseeds and their processed products from Russia and Belarus on 1 July 2024.
EU countries bought 90,400 tonnes of rapeseed oil from Belarus worth US$70.8M in the first half of 2024, four times higher than in 2021.
New Epax plant to expand marine oil range
Norwegian marine ingredient company Epax is investing US$10M in a new facility in Aalesund, Norway, to expand its range of marine oils, Nutra Ingredients reported on 12 February.
The 5,000 tonnes/year plant – due to be operational in early 2026 – would use new Epax fractionation technology to modify fish oil from North Atlantic pelagic fish species, a rich source of omega-9 and omega-11 fatty acids.
“Our team has engineered a method to isolate and up-concentrate fatty acids from North Atlantic fish", which was typically challenging due to the fatty acid composition of that fish type, Epax global marketing director Thomas Gulbrandsen said.
In 2012, Epax launched its NovusLipid category to commercialise new fish oils, a key component of which was exploring the use of omega-11 cetoleic acid and omega-9 gondoic acid commonly found in pelagic fish which inhabit the open waters of the North Atlantic,
typically at or near the surface. These longchain monounsaturated fatty acids had shown potential in nutraceutical applications targeting skin and metabolic health, as well as beauty and personal care products, the report said.
Indian February edible oil imports fall to lowest level in four years
India's edible oil imports in February fell to their lowest level in four years, dragging stocks to their lowest level in three years, a 11 March Reuters report quoted the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA). Imports of soyabean oil fell 36% to 283,737 tonnes in February and sunflower oil imports fell 20.8% to 228,275 tonnes, the SEA said. In total, the country's February vegetable oil imports fell by 12% to 899,565 tonnes, the lowest since February
2021. Edible oil stocks in India amounted to 1.87M tonnes on 1 March, the lowest figure in more than three years.
Palm and soyabean oil imports were likely to improve in March, as the industry was trying to build stocks, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at GGN Research.
The world's largest edible oil importer meets almost two-thirds of its vegetable oil demand through imports, according to Reuters, which wrote earlier on 21 February
that India was likely to raise vegetable oil import taxes to help oilseed farmers suffering from a crash in domestic oilseed prices.
In September 2024, India already imposed a 20% basic customs duty on vegetable oils, with 5.5% duties on crude palm, soyabean and sunflower oils rising to 27.5%, and a 35.75% import tax on refined grades of the three oils.
The SEA said farmers needed support to maintain their interest in oilseed cultivation.
Photo:
Indonesian deforestation rises for third year
Deforestation in Indonesia increased for a third consecutive year in 2024, The Jarkarta Post report reported on 1 February.
Using satellite imagery and field work, local environmental non-governmental organisation (NGO) Auriga Nusantara said 261,575ha of primary and secondary forests were lost across Indonesia in 2024, over 4,000ha more than in 2023.
Most deforestation was legal, taking place in areas opened for development by the government.
Auriga Nusantara chair Timer Manurung
IN BRIEF
WORLD: Global derivatives and commodities exchange CME Group launched a range of cast-settled micro grain and oilseed futures contracts on 24 February which are one-tenth the size of its corn, wheat, soyabean, soyabean oil and soyabean meal contracts.
“Smaller-sized contracts will provide additional flexibility for market participants to manage their agricultural portfolios,” CME managing director John Ricci said on 30 January. Leading industry players, including Interactive Brokers, Saxo and Phillip Nova, had shown support for the launch, CME said.
WORLD: Global sustainability organisation the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has launched its new certification, trade and sustainability system.
The new Palm Resource Information and Sustainability Management (prisma) system aimed to improve trade and compliance with current and emerging global regulations by providing real-time data and analytics, the RSPO said on 3 February.
As well as helping RSPO members to input key data, streamline information management and improve supply chain efficiency, the RSPO said the new system also allowed trade transactions to be conducted.
said there was an “urgent” need to protect forest in Sulawesi and in Kalimantan, where the new capital was being built and the highest losses were recorded.
However, Ade Tri Ajikusumah, a senior official at Indonesia’s environment and forestry ministry, was quoted as saying that the deforestation figure had not accounted for reforestation on more than 40,000ha of land. He also explained that development around Indonesia’s new capital involved land that had already been released from “forest status”.
Against this backdrop, Indonesian environmentalists had raised concerns over government plans to convert millions of hectares of forests for food and energy use, The Jakarta Post wrote.
On assuming office in October 2024, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had pledged to expand production of bio-based fuels to reduce fuel imports as part of a bid to boost the country’s food and energy self-sufficiency, the report said.
Environmental groups have warned the plans would impact the country’s forests.
COFCO signs sustainable soya trade deal
Global agribusiness COFCO International has agreed to supply Modern Farming and China Shengmu Organic Milk with 1.5M tonnes of deforestation- and conversion-free certified soyabeans between 2025 and 2030.
The two subsidiaries of global milk producer Mengniu Group manufacture and distribute dairy products in China under the Mengniu brand.
The soyabeans would be delivered from Brazil to China, with on-farm audits ensuring sustainable water management, biodiversity conservation and ethical labour standards in compliance with the COFCO International Respon-
sible Agriculture Standard, COFCO said on 2 February.
COFCO International is the overseas agriculture business platform for China’s largest food and agriculture company, COFCO Corporation,
and is active in global grains, oilseeds, sugar and cotton supply chains. The company has commited to eliminating deforestation from its global soyabean and corn supply chains by 2025.
FDA delays 'healthy' label rule introduction
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has delayed the introduction of its new 'healthy'' label rule by about two months, CNN reported on 24 February.
In December, the FDA finalised a rule updating the nutritional requirements a human food item had to meet to claim on its packaging that it was 'healthy', the report said.
The rule was initially scheduled to be implemented on 25 February 2025 but US President Donald Trump issued a memorandum in January putting a freeze on new rules until a department or agency head appointed or designated by the president reviewed and approved the rule.
The ‘Regulatory Freeze Pending Review’ memorandum also instructed agencies to postpone the effective date for any rules that had been published in the Federal Register but had not taken effect, CNN wrote.
The use of 'healthy' labelling is voluntary for
food manufacturers, and foods that meet the new requirements can start using the label once the rule is effective.
'Healthy' foods must contain a certain amount of a key food group – such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats or low-fat dairy – and must limit added sugars and saturated fats.
About 5% of all packaged foods in the current marketplace are labelled as 'healthy,' according to the final rule.
However, some foods that could previously carry the healthy label, such as white bread and heavily sweetened cereal and yogurt, would no longer qualify, the report said.
Foods qualifying under the new rule included nuts, seeds, salmon, olive oil and some peanut butters and canned fruits and vegetables.
The FDA was also working on designing a packaging symbol to to help consumers more easily identify foods considered as healthy.
Photo:Adobe Stock
Half of adults to be obese or overweight by 2050
More than half of all adults around the world are predicted to be overweight or obese by 2050, according to a new study of global data reported by the BBC on 4 March.
The study, published in The Lancet and covering more than 200 countries, also predicted that a third of children, teenagers and young adults would be overweight or obese by 2050. By 2021, almost half the global adult population – 1bn men and 1.11bn women aged 25 or older – were overweight or obese, double the proportion living with these conditions in 1990. If trends continued, global rates of overweight and obese adults would rise to about 57.4% for men and 60.3% for women by 2050, the study said.
The countries with the highest number of overweight or obese citizens in 2050 would be China (627M), India (450M) and the USA (214M). However, population growth would
mean the number in sub-Saharan Africa would increase by more than 250% to 522M.
The authors acknowledged the study did not consider the potential impact of new weight loss medications and that they could play a significant role in the future.
The study said rates of obesity in children and younger teenagers had increased from 8.8% to 18.1% between 1990-202, while the rate among younger adults (under 25s) more than doubled from 9.9% to 20.3%. By 2050 one in three young people would be affected.
The co-lead author of the report, Dr Jessica Kerr of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Australia, was quoted as saying the figures presented a real challenge to health care systems in the future. “But if we act now, preventing a complete transition to global obesity for children and adolescents is still possible.”
Kazakhstan sunflowerseed to nearly double
Kazakhstan’s sunflowerseed production in 2024/25 is expected to almost double compared to the previous year, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture
(USDA) citing annual agricultural statistics published by the National Bureau of Statistics of Kazakhstan on 30 January.
At 1.8M tonnes, sunflowerseed production was forecast
to be 75% up on the five-year average, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)’s February World Agricultural Production report said.
Yields were estimated at 1.46 tonnes/ha – a rise of 33% – and harvested area was estimated at 1.3M ha, an increase of 11% compared to the previous year, respectively.
The USDA said the bumper crop was due to a significant rise in planted area and higher-than-normal yields. Overall growth in the last decade was driven by more efficient use of modern technologies, access to improved seed varieties and favourable domestic prices.
IN BRIEF
SOUTH AMERICA: Soyabean production in Brazil looks set to reach a record level in 2024/25 while yields in Argentina are expected to fall, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
At 169M tonnes, Brazilian soyabean production in the period was expected to be 10% higher compared to the previous year and 18% above the five-year average, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)’s February World Agricultural Production report said.
Harvested area was estimated at a record 47.4M ha, 3% higher than the previous year and 13% above the five-year average.
Yields were estimated at 3.57 tonnes/ha, a 7% increase compared to the previous year and 5% above the five-year average.
Overall yield expectations in Brazil were positive but could be impacted by heat and dryness in southern parts of the country, including Rio Grande do Sul state and parts of Paraná state, although recent rainfall in Rio Grande do Sul had reduced some crop stress.
Soyabean production in Argentina in 2024/25 was forecast at 49.0M tonnes, up 2% from the previous year. Yields were forecast at 2.83 tonnes/ha, 4% lower than the previous year’s volume due to hot and dry conditions.
Olam Group to sell 44.58% stake in Olam Agri
Global food and agribusiness company
Olam Group is set to sell 44.58% of its stake in Olam Agri Holdings to Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co (SALIC).
Three years after the transaction's completion, Olam Group said it would sell its remaining 19.99% stake in Olam Agri to SALIC.
Olam Agri specialises in the processing and trading of animal feed, grains, oilseeds, rice and other products, handling 40M tonnes of commodities in 2023.
The company sources, trades, ships, distributes and processes grains and oilseeds such as wheat, maize, barley, rye, flaxseed, sorghum, chickpeas and soyabeans.
Its oil portfolio includes palm, rapeseed, soyabean and sunflower oils and it serves sectors from food manufacturing to personal care. The company also operates edible oil processing and refining plants in Nigeria and Mozambique, where it refines crude vegetable oils and markets refined, bleached and deodorised palm oil, palm olein and
to SALIC
refined soyabean oil.
Established in 2009, SALIC aims to achieve food security for Saudi Arabia through domestic and international investments.
SALIC CEO Sulaiman AlRumaih said the full acquisition agreement of Olam Agri aligned with SALIC’s strategic objectives of diversifying sources of essential commodities, strengthening supply chain integration, and enhancing logistical efficiency across its local and international investments.
Photo: Adobe Stock
BIOFUEL NEWS
IN BRIEF
FINLAND:
Renewable fuels producer Neste has reported an increase in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) sales despite a challenging market.
Announcing its fourth quarter 2024 results, Neste CEO Heikki Malinen said the company’s renewables segment had been negatively impacted by new competitors and increased production capacity, with a decline in renewable fuel sales prices and intensified demand for waste and residue raw materials.
Weakening fossil diesel prices also had a negative impact on sales prices, resulting in Neste’s sales margins falling significantly below previous years’ levels.
Fourth quarter comparable sales margins for renewables was US$242/tonne, down from US$813/tonne in the same 2023 period. Full year 2024 comparable renewable sales margins was US$377/tonne, down from US$863/tonne the previous year. Fourth quarter sales volumes totalled 926,000 tonnes, up from 870,000 tonnes in the same 2023 period. SAF accounted for 195,000 tonnes of fourth quarter sales in 2024, up from 40,000 tonnes the previous year.
The share of waste and residue inputs was 90% of total renewable materials inputs in 2024, compared to 92% in 2023.
Canada launches probe into US renewable diesel
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said on 6 March that it had launched an anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duty probe into US renewable diesel imports following a complaint by Canadian biofuels producer Tidewater Renewables.
The Tidewater complaint filed at the end of last year alleged that due to increased dumped and subsidised imports from the USA, it had suffered lost market share and sales, price undercutting and depression, and reduced profitability.
The CBSA said it would investigate if the imports were being sold in Canada at unfair prices and/or were being subsidised, and would make preliminary decisions by 4 June.
Alongside the CBSA probe, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) would begin a preliminary investigation to determine if the
imports were harming Canadian producers and would issue a decision by 5 May.
Tidewater said on 6 March that it expected provisional duties to be imposed at the Canada-USA border within 90 days. Final duties, which would be in place for five years, could be imposed by September following a ruling by the CITT, Tidewater said. It added that the duties imposed would be in addition to any trade actions taken by the Canadian government against the USA in relation to their ongoing trade war.
The USA has announced 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods and 10% tariffs on its biofuels (see p4). In response, Canada has imposed 25% duties on US goods and is also planning a second round of tariffs which would include US biodiesel, subject to a comment period until 2 April.
EU court dismisses challenge to SAF rule
The General Court of the EU (EGC) has dismissed a legal challenge brought by European biofuel producers over the exclusion of cropbased biofuels from the EU sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) regulation, Ethanol Producer magazine wrote on 28 February.
In its decision on 27 February, the court dismissed a 2024 legal challenge by EU renewable ethanol association ePURE and biofuel producer Pannonia Bio over the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation’s exclusion of crop-based biofuels.
ReFuelEU requires EU airports and fuel suppliers to ensure that at least 2% of aviation fuels are “green” by 2025, rising to 6% in 2030, 20% in 2035, 34% in 2040, 42% in 2045 and 70% in 2050. The regulation had been criticised by many in the biofuels industry for excluding cropbased aviation fuels, the report said.
In May 2024, the US Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), Growth Energy, the US Grains Council and SAF technology company LanzaJet
sought to intervene in the challenge in support of ePURE and Pannonia Bio.
In its ruling, the EGC said that ePURE and Pannonia Bio did not have a legal right to bring the challenge, the report said. The court also dismissed a challenge to the FuelEU Maritime regulation for excluding crop-based biofuels.
bp slashes renewable energy investments, boosts oil and gas spending
Global energy giant bp announced on 26 February that it is slashing planned investments in renewable energy but boosting oil and gas spending to US$10bn/year in a bid to increase cash flows and returns.
Annual investment in energy transition would be cut by more than US$5bn from its previous forecast, to between US$1.5bn-US$2bn/year. bp now aims to increase oil and gas production to between 2.3M-2.5M barrels of oil equivalent/day in 2030, Reuters wrote on 26 February. In 2020, the firm had pledged to cut oil and gas output by 40% while rapidly grow-
ing renewables by 2030 but, across the energy sector, major players were shifting their response to lowering carbon emissions, with a re-focus on oil and gas, Reuters wrote.
bp already announced in June 2024 that it was scaling back plans to develop new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel projects at its existing sites.
According to a bp spokesperson quoted in a 21 June Biobased Diesel Daily report, three projects to be assessed were in Kwinana, Australia; Castellon, Spain; and Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
The Kwinana project on the site of
bp’s former Kwinana oil refinery has now been paused, according to a 4 February Bloomberg report. The project was set to be the first of five bp plants worldwide to turn biomass, including used cooking oil, into SAF and renewable diesel, Boiling Coal wrote on 3 February.
bp is also the sole owner of industrial-scale sugarcane and ethanol business bp Bunge Bioenergia SA, and announced in August last year that it was buying a 15% stake in Chinese biofuel firm Lianyungang Jiaao Enproenergy, which is building a SAF plant in Lianyungang.
Photo: Adobe Stock
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Brazil to keep B14 biodiesel blending
Brazil would not be increasing its mandatory biodiesel blend to 15% in March as expected but would maintain the current 14% blend due to the price of soyabean oil and concerns about food inflation, Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira said in a 18 February Reuters report.
The bulk of biodiesel in Brazil is produced from soyabean oil.
If the blend had increased to 15%, biodiesel sales would have increased by 1.2Mm³, bringing total demand in 2025 to 10.2Mm³, Reuters wrote. With the continuation of the 14% blend throughout 2025, annual growth in sales was expected to total 600,000m³, agribusiness consultancy StoneX said.
EU duties on China now official
The European Commission (EC)’s anti-dumping duties on imports of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from China officially came into force with their publication in the EU Official Journal on 10 February.
The measures were introduced following an anti-dumping investigation into the impact of biodiesel imports from China on the EU biodiesel industry, the Directorate-General for Trade said on 11 February. Chinese exports into the EU market would be subject to an anti-dumping duty of between 21.7% and 35.6%, except for EcoCeres, which would be subject to a 10% duty.
In its decision, the EC made it clear that Chinese exporters would not be allowed to circumvent the duties by channelling their biodiesel through other Chinese exporters who had received lower duties, the European Biodiesel Board (EBB) said on 11 February. The association said protection against Chinese biodiesel imports was not “perfect” as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) was excluded from duties but added that SAF imports would be closely monitored thanks to a dedicated, code-based system.
Commercial production of bio-acrylic acid
South Korean chemical company LG Chem is set to produce 100% plant-based bio-acrylic acid derived from vegetable oils on a commercial scale in the second quarter of this year.
With an initial production capacity of 100 tonnes/year, LG Chem said it planned to scale up production if demand for eco-friendly raw materials increased.
Bio-acrylic acid is suitable for use in a range of materials, including cosmetic ingredients in direct contact with the
IN BRIEF
GERMANY: German engineering firm thyssenkrupp Uhde has launched new enzymatic esterification technology in partnership with industrial enzymes company Novonesis.
Designed to operate at lower temperatures, the process produced bio-based and bio-degradable esters for use in a range of food, personal care, household care and technical applications, the company said on 5 February.
This would allow clients to enter new markets for biobased products.
Following a successful pilot, the firm said the technology was now ready for scale-up and industrial application, with an add-on retrofit package available to allow existing plants to run both conventional and enzymatic esterification processes.
MALAYSIA/INDIA: On 26 February, KLK OLEO announced that it had established a new representative in Mumbai to tap into the growing Indian market.
The oleochemicals manufacturing division of plantation group Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad (KLK) produces basic oleochemical products, such as fatty acids, glycerine, fatty alcohols and fatty esters, as well as specialities, such as methyl ester sulphonates (MES), surfactants and phytonutrients.
skin, super absorbent polymers (SAP) for nappies, adhesives for electronics and vehicles, coating materials and eco-friendly paints.
Although attempts to develop bio-acrylic acid technology had been made worldwide, none had been used commercially to date, LG Chem said on 13 February.
The bio-acrylic acid was made using the organic compound, 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3HP), as a precursor. The 3HP strain was made via a microbial fermentation
process, with both the 3HP strain and fermentation technology attaining the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s certified biobased product label last year, the company said.
Starting with prototype production, LG Chem said it planned to promote the product in North America and Europe.
The cosmetics industry, which increasingly demanded plant-based and naturally-derived ingredients, was expected to be a key market for bio-acrylic acid, it added.
Significant rise in castor yields reported
German chemical and biotech giant BASF has reported a significant rise in castor yields under its sustainable castor Pragati programme that it runs with other companies.
Castor oil and its derivatives play an important role in the chemical industry as raw materials in the production of plastics, coatings and paints, pharmaceuticals and other materials.
BASF said on 4 February that more than 8,000 farmers working on over 9,000ha of mostly semi-arid land were now certified under the Pragati programme, which it founded in May 2016, along with speciality chemicals firm Arkema, oleochemical company Jayant Agro-Organics and implementation partner Solidaridad.
Pragati is the Hindi word for progress and the project was driven by a baseline survey of more than 1,000 castor farmers in Gujarat, India.
The goal was to enable sustainable castor crop production through good agricultural practices to increase yield and
farmer income; efficient use of water resources; maintenance of soil fertility; adoption of good waste management and health and safety practices, and respect for human rights.
Around 100,000 tonnes of certified castor seeds were being cultivated in the 2023/24 crop cycle, compared to 74,500 tonnes the previous year, while farmers certified under the SuCCESS Supply Chain Code had achieved 57% higher yields than the yield published by the local government for the region, BASF said. As part of
the programme’s third phase (2023-2026), BASF said there had been an increased focus on fostering the involvement of women in castor farming, with more than 1,100 women from 17 project villages joining the scheme in 2024.
▪ The International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) scheme announced on 18 February that it had awarded the first ISCC EU low ILUC (indirect land use change) certificate to Kenya’s Janari Farms for growing castor on degraded land for Italian energy firm Eni to produce biofuels.
Amazon trials bio-delivery bags in Spain
US online shopping giant Amazon said on 16 January that it is trialling the use of bio-based delivery bags in Spain made from vegetable materials produced in Europe, including corn starch and vegetable oils,
Developed by materials specialists at Italian company Novamont – part of Versalis (Eni) –with support from Amazon’s materials experts, the first trials of the new bags were being piloted for Amazon Fresh orders in Valencia.
Amazon said its bio-based bags were durable, food safe and weather-resistant and the new material, Mater-bi, could progressively replace fossil-based plastic bags used by food retailers and manufacturers. The bags could potentially be recycled into new bags and as they were biodegradable, they did not generate microplastics. Amazon said it would use the results of the trial to assess if the new bio-based bags could be used on a wider scale.
Photo:
BASF
TRANSPORT NEWS
US fees target Chinese ships and operators
The US Trade Representative (USTR)’s office has proposed charging up to US$1.5M for Chinese-built vessels entering US ports as part of its investigation into China’s growing domination of the global shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors, Reuters reported on 24 February.
In a 16 January report, USTR said a probe launched during the administration of former President Joe Biden found that China had increased its share of global shipbuilding tonnage from 5% in 1999 to over 50% in 2023 due to massive state subsidies and preferential treatment for state-owned enterprises that were squeezing out private sector international competitors.
The proposed charges would add to supply chain uncertainty and raised a range
IN BRIEF
BRAZIL: On 30 January, Brazilian shipping company
Wilson Sons said it had received approval from the Brazilian Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels to conduct the country’s first tests on the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) in the maritime sector. Marine fuel supplier efen would import HVO for testing on Wilson Sons’ tugs at the Açu Liquid Bulk Terminal (TLA), owned by Vast Infraestrutura, at the Port of Açu, Rio de Janeiro state.
Vast was also studying the potential of using a yet-tobe built TLA tank structure to store and add bio-components to marine fuels.
of complicated questions, such as how the fees would affect a China-linked bulk carrier that arrived empty to load American grain or soyabeans for export, John McCown, an analyst with the Center for Maritime Strategy, said in a 24 February FreightWaves report.
“What happens to an empty Panamax vessel that arrives to load grain from the Midwest? With the fees, we’re suddenly less competitive than Brazil.”
The USTR proposals were published in a Federal Register notice on 21 February. They include port entrance fees of up to US$1M/vessel owned by Chinese maritime transport operators, or a US$1,000/ tonne charge of a vessel’s cargo capacity.
Non-Chinese maritime transport oper-
ators using Chinese-built ships would pay up to US$1.5M for each port entry.
Those with more than 50% Chinese-built fleets would pay US$1M for each vessel entry, regardless of origin. The fee would fall to US$750,000 if the Chinese fleet percentage was between 25% and 50% and to US$500,000 if below 25%.
A second set of fees in similar amounts could apply to maritime operators with vessels on order from Chinese shipyards to be delivered over the next two years.
The remedies would also require at least 1% of US exports to be shipped on US flagged vessels for the first two years, rising to 3% after two years and 5% after three years, when 3% of US exports would have to be shipped on American-built ships.
New grain, soya terminal in Saudi Arabia
National Grain Company opened a new grain and soyabean terminal at Yanbu Commercial Port in Saudi Arabia on 22 December.
The Yanbu Grain Handling Terminal could handle up to 3M tonnes/year of grain – including barley, corn and soyabeans – and was the first regional centre for grains in Yanbu port, World Grain wrote on 24 December.
The terminal has a storage capacity of 156,000 tonnes – including 12 silos with a total capacity of 96,000 tonnes and a flat warehouse with 60,000 tonnes of capacity – a 650m conveyor belt and has a ship grain unloading capacity of 800 tonnes/hour.
National Grain is a joint venture between Saudi shipper Bahri and the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co (SALIC), which was established in 2009 to secure food supplies for Saudi Arabia through mass production and investments.
Abdulrahman Al-Fadley, SALIC board chairman and Saudi Arabia’s minister of environ-
ment, water and agriculture, said the terminal would help boost the origination and discharge of grains to Saudi Arabia and enhance supply chain capabilities.
China sells Panama Canal port terminals to US consortium
Hong Kong-based logistics company CK Hutchison has announced that a consortium – including US investment firm BlackRock – will buy an 80% stake in its business that controls two ports at the Panama Canal, The Guardian wrote on 5 March.
The US$14bn sale of the stake in Panama Ports Company, which owns and operates Balboa and Cristóbal ports on either side of the waterway, follows US President Donald Trump’s earlier comments that he wanted to end what he claimed was China’s influence over the Panama Canal.
However, CK Hutchison said the deal was unrelated to Trump’s vow to “take back” the canal.
“The transaction is purely commercial in nature and wholly unrelated to recent political news reports concerning the Panama ports,” the company’s co-managing director Frank Sixt was quoted as saying.
However, Trump claimed the deal as a victory in his address to a joint session of Congress on 4 March, NBC News reported the next day. “My administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it,” he was quoted as saying. “Just today, a large American company announced they are buying both ports around the Panama Canal.”
CK Hutchison has been operating the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal at the canal’s
Pacific and Atlantic entrances for more than two decades, The Guardian wrote. Other ports at the canal were operated by firms from the USA, Taiwan and Singapore.
In February, Marco Rubio visited Panama during his first overseas trip as US secretary of state, securing a commitment from Panama president José Raúl Mulino to exit China’s belt and road infrastructure-building programme, The Guardian said.
He also pressed for free passage of US vessels through the canal,
About 5% of world trade is transported via the waterway and the USA is the largest user of the canal, which is vital for US grain and soyabean exports to Asia.
Photo: Adobe Stock, AI generated
BIOTECH NEWS
Bayer and groups seek to shield from cancer claims
German chemical giant Bayer and a coalition of agricultural groups are seeking to shield themselves from lawsuits claiming Bayer's glyphosate-based Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, AP News reported on 10 February.
Legislation pending in Iowa and at least seven other US states would protect pesticide companies from claims they failed to warn their product caused cancer if the product label otherwise complied with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s regulations, the report said. Similar attempts to legislate on the issue failed during 2024 legislative sessions in Iowa, Missouri and Idaho.
Bayer and the coalition launched a broader media campaign this year highlighting the importance of Roundup for US agriculture, AP News wrote. The coalition includes Modern Ag Alliance, a group of agricultural organisations
supporting Bayer's efforts and Protecting America Initiative, an organisation concerned about China's influence on the US economy.
Campaigners against the pending legislation say it would limit the rights of people to hold companies accountable if their products caused harm, according to AP News
Bayer has always disputed claims that Roundup causes a form of cancer - non-Hodgkin lymphoma but the company has been issued with around 177,000 lawsuits involving the weedkiller and has set aside US$16bn to settle cases.
The company has said those legal costs were “not sustainable” and it was looking for relief from lawmakers concerned about the possibility that Roundup could be taken off the US market, the report said. The weedkiller is designed to work with seeds, such as corn, soyabeans and cotton, genetically modified to be resistant to it.
New sorghum variety outperforms soyabean
A US research team at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) has developed a new sorghum variety that outperforms soyabeans in oil production.
The team developed a sorghum which could accumulate up to 5.5% dry weight triacylglycerols (TAG) in its leaves and 3.5% dry weight in its stems under field conditions – 78 times and 58 times higher levels than in unmodified sorghum, respectively.
With this level of production, the sorghum variety could provide about 1.4 times more oil/ha than soyabeans, the researchers said in their new study, published in Plant Biotechnology Journal.
Sorghum grass is heat and drought tolerant
tion, the researchers used a ‘push-pull-protect’ strategy, which CAABI researchers had previously used to increase vegetative oil accumulation in other plants. Genes were introduced to ‘push’ more carbon from photosynthesis into oil production, ‘pull’ fatty acids into TAG molecules and ‘protect’ the stored oil from breaking down.
IN BRIEF
BRAZIL: Energy company
Acelen has partnered with plant micropropagation research and development specialist MulticanaPlus to develop macaúba as a biofuel feedstock, Biofuels Digest wrote on 11 February.
Native to Brazil, macaúba is adapted to semi-arid conditions and low-quality soils and its fruits can be processed into pulp oil, kernel oil and residual biomass.
Acelen said it would plant macaúba trees on 180,000ha of land in the project and clone genetically identical copies of superior plants to reproduce characteristics such as resistance to stress and high production potential.
MulticanaPlus CEO Alewijn Broere said the firm had experience in plant cloning through somatic embryogenesis, which it had used to produce coffee and cocoa seedlings.
MEXICO: The government announced on 5 February that it had officially repealed its proposed ban on US imports of genetically modified (GM) corn after a trade dispute panel ruled this violated the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) pact, World Grain wrote on 7 February.
Unlike oil-rich seeds and fruit from plants like oil palm, TAG typically only accumulates in a plant’s vegetative leaves and stems as a stress response to membrane damage.
The team focused on sorghum for its high efficiency at photosynthesis, heat and drought tolerance, and well-understood genome.
Calyxt says seedless hemp offered improved yields and quality
To develop sorghum for vegetative oil accumula-
The researchers said they would continue to study ways to further raise oil yields to meet CABBI’s goal of growing crops that were 10% TAG by dry weight.
Two measures were repealed – the ban on GM corn in dough and tortillas for human consumption, and an instruction to Mexican agencies to phase out its use in other food uses and animal feed, the report said.
The ban had been due to come into force this year.
Syngenta acquires Novartis' genetic strains for agriculture
Global crop protection and seed company Syngenta has acquired natural compounds and genetic strains for agricultural use from Swiss-US multinational pharmaceutical corporation Novartis.
The move would give Syngenta access to a source of novel leads for agricultural research and offered integrated capabilities in bio-engineering, data science, fermentation, downstream processing and analytics,
the company said on 26 February.
As part of the deal, expected to close on 1 June, Syngenta said it would lease the Novartis fermentation pilot plant and science laboratories in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis would maintain exclusive rights to its repository for pharmaceutical use.
The acquisition followed a research collaboration between Syngenta and Novartis, which has been ongoing since 2019, and
the opening of Syngenta’s new biologicals production facility in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA, which would support growing demand for science-based and novel biological solutions in North and Latin American markets, Syngenta said.
Since acquiring Italy’s Valagro in 2020, Syngenta has been expanding its focus on biologicals, including bio-controls, bio-stimulants and nutrient use efficiency products.
Photo: Adobe Stock
Greater price volatility
A raft of conflicting fundamentals including weather, geopolitical factors farmers’ responses to shifting price signals and competition between food and fuel demand are buffeting the vegetable oil markets
John Buckley
Vegetable oil markets have been buffeted by a raft of conflicting fundamentals since the turn of the New Year –erratic weather, geopolitical upheaval, competition between food and fuel outlets and attempts to guess Northern Hemisphere farmers’ spring planting responses to shifting price signals. With so many ‘unknowns’ in the mix, price volatility seems likely to continue for some months yet.
On the supply side, the market focus has been frequently fixed on the two largest components – palm oil and soyabeans – both of which have encountered weather issues.
For palm oil, it has been incessant rains and floods slowing and reducing Malaysian production potential, always down in the Northern Hemisphere winter months but now seen likely to reduce stocks to their lowest level for almost three years.
While prices have risen (see Figure 1, above), response has been partially restrained by consumers’ reaction to the unusual premium commanded by palm over its soft oil rivals, causing some buyers to switch allegiance from this traditional ‘value’ commodity. Top customer India –whose January palm oil imports were their lowest since 2011 – has even taken in more soyabean and sunflower oils than palm at times – an unusual trend.
Palm oil’s strong price has also owed much to top producer Indonesia’s decision to raise its already large consumption in its burgeoning biofuel sector. Although there were signs its government might restrain or postpone a long-forewarned move to a 40% palm oil blend in diesel (B40), the move towards this target appeared to be imminent, potentially soaking up what used to be regular surpluses. Indonesian exports have already fallen by over 8% in
the last calendar year, the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) recently noted.
Palm oil’s influence is, not surprisingly, being felt across other vegetable oil sectors. Not only is it the most widely used oil (about 35% of the world total), palm has long been counted on to contribute to the largest portion of supply growth – almost 40% in the past 15 years.
On the optimistic side, the US Agriculture Department (USDA)’s recent monthly outlook continued to forecast global palm oil production of 79.5M tonnes, an implied annual growth of under 3.3M tonnes against negligible gains in two of the previous three seasons. Some analysts think its disappointing performance in recent months suggests this might be over-stated but others believe some recovery is likely in the second half of 2025 if the weather normalises. Against that, and despite recent importer reaction to higher palm oil costs, global consumption has been forecast to grow almost as fast – if Indonesia’s biodiesel expansion comes to full fruition.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s average monthly cost of cooking oils rose by a hefty 35.7% from 2024’s February low to the end of November.
The December/January period saw some reversal however, as palm oil began to suffer demand destruction, led by India. India’s February palm oil imports did stage a steep 36% recovery in the wake of a temporary dip in costs. Until the production outlook – and the biofuel factor – become clearer, palm oil seems
likely to remain a key source of price volatility.
Soya to the rescue?
At the turn of the year, consumers had been counting on a record world soyabean crop to blunt the impact of disappointing supplies of palm, rapeseed and sunflower oils. That prospect seems to be still on track but soyabean’s contribution has been scaled back somewhat by hot dry weather in Argentina (crop trimmed from 52M tonnes to 47-49M tonnes) and harvest delays from excessive rains in Brazil (recently in a wide crop range from 169M-172M tonnes against earlier hopes of up to 175M tonnes).
While Latin American weather risk has been a key factor supporting soyabean price gains for much of 2025 to date, it did seem to be easing as we went to press in early March after some improvement in conditions for major producers Argentina and Brazil.
Runaway soyabean bulls have also been checked by the new US administration’s moves to impose steep new tariffs on imports of goods, including an extra 20% punitive levy on its largest soyabean customer China.
China has retaliated with a 10% tariff on US soyabeans and the suspension of import licenses on three US firms supplying the crop. US traders think it is inevitable that US soyabean sales to China will suffer as the country switches to Brazil and other Latin American suppliers.
However, the impact on market sentiment might be delayed by seasonal
Source: John Buckley/Bursay Malaysia
Figure 1: Bursa Malaysia palm oil futures prices (US$ equivalent/tonne) from 2015
factors. With the Brazilian harvest well underway and Argentina’s round the corner, the USA would normally expect to see a few months of reduced export business at this time of year, and much could change in the volatile arena of trade politics before the next US crop arrives.
One factor helping to stabilise, even at times firm up, the weaker soyabean futures prices seen late last year has been speculation that the US 2025 soyabean crop will be planted on a significantly smaller area.
Soyabean prices recently dropped significantly against this time last year (see Figure 2, following page), while those of its main land rival maize, have risen substantially.
Having also been drawn into the tariff imbroglio, the USA’s second largest soyabean customer – Mexico – might also be having thoughts about where to source soyabean imports. Mexico also plays a larger role in the corn market as the USA’s top outlet for grain.
A recent poll of analysts by news agency Bloomberg found the average estimate for US soyabean planted area was 84.4M acres (34.2M ha) against last year’s 87.1M acres (35.2M ha).
The lowest of the ranges quoted, multiplied by the average yield of the past two years, would take the crop down to little more than 113M tonnes against last year’s 118.8M tonnes. The USDA’s late February annual Outlook Forum surprised the market with an even smaller 84M acre (33.9M ha) forecast, although it indicated that could be offset by better yields.
Biofuels factor
There were also signs at the turn of this year that a key driver of firming vegetable oil costs – demand competition from the fuel sector – might be less severe than earlier thought under the influence of the more climate-change sceptical Trump administration.
However, this is a factor cutting both ways. It is potentially bearish for Canadian rapeseed producers, whose largest export market for canola oil and meal could be hit by new tariffs imposed by their southern neighbour. For the USA, it could be more bullish if biofuel producers filled the ensuing rapeseed oil gap with more home-produced soyabean oil, unless a Trump-inspired pullback from biofuels reduces vegetable oil needs in this sector. Just to complicate matters further, there
were proposals late last year to change US tax credits for biodiesel blending to a producer tax credit with carbon-intensity and country of origin restrictions, a move that some analysts say could put Canadian canola and biofuel producers/refiners at a disadvantage, and also affect demand for US soyabean oil as well. US soyabean oil was recently forecast to supply 6.17M tonnes to US fuel manufacture (up almost 9% in just two years).
Another linked factor is the possibility that the USA will allow a higher blend of maize in fuel ethanol production for a longer period each year (fuel already uses 140M tonnes of maize, well over 40% of
the USA’s giant maize crop). Some analysts say this could potentially reduce demand for soyabean oil in biodiesel, resulting in less pressure on vegetable oil supply and costs.
The biofuel sector must also keep an eye on the energy market’s response to fast-moving geopolitical issues.
The value of crude oil was already under downward pressure for months before the US president said he would free up domestic drilling. Since then, the energy market has had to absorb the possibility of an unharnessed Russia, not to mention the Trump tariff risk of economic damage undermining demand.
INTERNATIONAL MARKET REVIEW
Canola reversal?
Until recently, US biofuel demand for rapeseed oil had been encouraging Canadian plans to massively expand its canola crop and crushing capacity. This led some analysts to predict a persistent hike in the cost of the oil, not just in Canada but around the world, a potentially interesting challenge for consumers in the EU where rapeseed is still the leading vegetable oil.
There have already been signs that Canada’s canola boom might be deflating or at least slowing now that the USA seems a less secure market for investors.
At least three 1M tonne+ projects (FCL/ AGT, Ceres Global and Northgate) have been either paused or shelved for the time being, while the future of Viterra’s planned new 2.5M tonnes facility has been described as uncertain.
Cargill, in contrast was reported to be going ahead with its already halfcompleted new 2.5M tonne plant.
US imports of Canadian canola oil and meal were worth US$8.6bn in 2023 and US$7.7bn in 2024. Canola is the single largest source of Canadian farm crop cash receipts and is grown by almost 40,000 farmers. The Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) said in March that “the damaging blow caused by [US] tariffs will be felt by every canola farmer, starting with the price they receive at delivery and will extend to the full range of their operations, ultimately reducing farm profitability”.
Although official statements suggest Canadian canola crush will still rise in 2024/25, it has already begun to flag in recent months. Some analysts say that would have happened anyway as last year’s disappointing Canadian crop would have struggled to cover projected crushing and exports without slashing stocks to unsustainable levels. Still, a big question mark has been raised over canola’s onceglowing longer-term prospects.
What effect might this have on Canada’s canola planting? A recent outlook from Farm Credit Canada for 2025/26 suggests that despite canola’s unusually low global stock/use ratio, there is more price upside for cereals than for oilseeds, especially if large soyabean crops do successfully rein the oilseed sector in.
As well as the Trump tariff factor, there is also the ongoing question of potential demand loss in Canada’s once key rapeseed export market, China, where an anti-dumping investigation is still ongoing.
Other producers
The 2024 crop setbacks for rapeseed and sunflowerseed have helped keep
overall vegetable oil costs up, pointing to a 2024/25 seasonal ‘carryover’ stock drawdown to lower than usual levels. This leaves less cover against unwelcome weather events and a possibly more nervous market, up to harvests in the third quarter of 2025, when the new season starts.
In the Northern Hemisphere, most
European canola has already been autumn sown. Europe may have planted a similar or slightly larger area than last year, if other member states have followed top producer France’s lead.
Indian rapeseed production may be negatively affected by recent hotter than usual weather, which could have repercussions on its domestic oil supply and its import needs. China’s also large crop remains a mostly internal affair.
Sunflowerseed crops will not be put in the ground until March/April but may invite a positive response from the main European producers if recent firmer prices persist.
Early reports from Ukraine’s farm ministry suggest the country may sow less sunflowerseed this spring.
Although exports from the Black Sea region have weathered the Russia/ Ukraine conflict better than might have been expected this past year, vegetable oil supply from this region could remain a bit of a wild card in early 2025, depending on whether recent attempts at a peaceful settlement to the war come to fruition. ● John Buckley is OFI’s market correspondent
Source: John Buckley/CBOT
Figure 2: Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soyabean futures (US$ cents/bushel) from 2015
Source: John Buckley/Euronext
Figure 3: Euronext (Paris) rapeseed futures prices (€/tonne) from 2021
Source: John Buckley/FAO
Figure 4: FAO vegetable oil price index
Annual averages prior to 2024, then monthly
SOYABEANS
A tale of two giants
Brazil and the USA are the world’s top suppliers of soyabeans. While Brazil is the leading producer, the USA enjoys a competitive advantage in logistics. What does the future hold for these two giants? Tiago Vicente
Soyabeans are a fundamental commodity for global food security, with the Americas being the primary region responsible for their supply, and Brazil and USA leading global production.
Brazil
Over the last century, the evolution of soyabean production in Brazil has been remarkable. Initially cultivated in the southern region of the country, soyabean production has expanded over the years, becoming Brazil’s leading agricultural crop. The oilseed also accounts for approximately 23% of national agribusiness GDP and nearly 6% of Brazil’s overall GDP.
Today, Brazilian soyabeans are grown in 11 states, with Mato Grosso being the largest producer in terms of both quantity and planted area.
Since the 2012/2013 harvest, Brazil has surpassed the USA as the world’s largest soyabean producer, and the coming 2024/25 season will be no different.
According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the country is expected to have one of its largest harvests ever this season at 167.3M tonnes. This figure represents an increase of nearly 15% compared to 2023/24.
Driven by high external demand, Brazil is not only the largest producer but also the world’s largest exporter of soyabeans.
According to the National Association of Cereal Exporters (ANEC), Brazil closed 2024 exporting 97.299M tonnes, the main destination being China.
Currently, the soyabean market is essential to Brazil’s economy. Even as it competes for planted area with other grains, such as corn in the midwest region and rice in southern Brazil, soyabeans remain a versatile crop. They can be used in the animal nutrition market as a protein source, in vegetable oil production, and in biodiesel manufacturing. The latter plays a significant role in the future of oilseed production.
With a focus on sustainability, the Brazilian government, in partnership with the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), launched the Renovabio programme in 2016. Its objective is to expand and regulate the biodiesel market, promoting not only economic but also social benefits.
Among its many functions, Renovabio assists in regulating the blending of vegetable oils and fats in biodiesel production.
In 2024, Brazil operated under the B14 standard stipulating that 14% of the raw materials used in biodiesel production are required to come from vegetable or animal oils and fats. With this percentage, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock stated that the measure would prevent the emission of 5M tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere and reduce fossil fuel imports.
For 2025, the government has set a target to increase the blending rate by 1%,
reaching B15 by March.
At first glance, this percentage increase may seem small but, according to ANP data, national biodiesel production exceeded 7.5bn litres in 2023. Of this production, 70% of the mandatory mixture of vegetable or animal oils and fats came from soyabean oil, due to its abundance. In 2025, this 1% rise in the blending rate could represent an increase in local demand of nearly 6M tonnes for soyabean crushing, ANP says.
Other raw materials used in biodiesel production include beef tallow, used cooking oil, palm oil and cottonseed oil.
However, Brazil faces some bottlenecks that hinder its comparative advantage over its main competitor. The biggest challenge lies in logistical costs.
With its vast territorial expanse, Brazil is currently the fifth largest country in the world. In the agricultural context, if managed properly, this territory could offer many opportunities.
However, the country relies almost exclusively on road transportation for local operations and exports.
Because suppliers are highly dependent on a transportation model in which the primary input is still fossil fuel, their operations are vulnerable to external factors such as trade wars, political instability and currency fluctuations.
With such rudimentary logistics, Brazilian products intended for export often lose competitiveness compared to their rivals.
Most of Brazil’s soyabeans are produced
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SOYABEANS
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5% (B5), or 20% (B20). In addition, the USA excels in ethanol production derived from corn.
In Brazil, the biofuel market is significant, particularly ethanol production based on sugarcane. However, unlike Brazil, the USA faces a politically unstable scenario. Its relationship with its largest soyabean market, China, could become a decisive factor for its exports.
US President Donald Trump, who took office on 20 January after being reelected for a second term, has imposed an additional 20% tariff on all Chinese goods entering the USA.
Source: US Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service
2: USA – soyabean planted area by county for selected states, 2023
in the midwest region, with distances exceeding 1,600km to reach the main export ports, such as from Mato Grosso state to the port of Santos, São Paulo. The scenario becomes even more challenging when the exported product is oil or meal, where nearly 40% of the offer value (cost and freight – CFR basis) is attributed to logistical costs.
USA
It is often said that Brazil is a soyabean country that also grows corn, while in the USA, the opposite is true. Even with a strong corn culture, the USA is currently the world’s second largest producer of soyabeans.
According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the US soyabean harvest is projected to reach 124.81M tonnes in 2025. This production will take place on an area of 34.8M ha (86.1M acres), a rise of 3% compared with 2024 and setting a record for the country.
Comparing the two countries, Brazilian disadvantages are the USA’s strengths,
starting with logistics.
In addition to its extensive road network, the USA has a railway system of over 250,000km, spanning more than 23 states. This makes US logistical costs extremely competitive overall, especially when compared to Brazil.
Furthermore, the USA has the largest waterway network in the world, essential for transporting grains from the soyabean belt in states such as Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas to ports in the south and southeast. Additionally, the USA has more ports with better infrastructure compared with Brazil, where the main concentration of ports is in Santos, São Paulo and Paranaguá, Paraná. When it comes to biodiesel, the USA also leads and is the largest producer in the world. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the USA produced approximately 14.5bn litres of biodiesel in 2023, soyabeans being the main feedstock.
According to the agency, most US biodiesel is consumed as blends with petroleum diesel in proportions of 2% (B2),
As retaliation, the Chinese market may limit its soyabean imports from the USA, potentially opening a window of opportunity for South American soyabeans, particularly from Brazil and Argentina, both of which have promising expectations for the next production cycle.
Conclusion
Soyabean production is essential to the Brazilian economy, whether due to the country’s export needs, job creation or domestic consumption. Projections by the Ministry of Agriculture indicate a potential 35% growth in soyabean production in Brazil over the next 10 years.
Simultaneously, there may be an increase in demand – estimated at more than 165% for soyabean oil over the next decade –with the growth of biodiesel production in the country, according to the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (Abiove).
With its tropical climate and one of the largest reserves of freshwater on the planet, Brazil has a significant comparative advantage over its main competitor.
However, the country still faces significant instability in terms of sustainability, illegal deforestation and, most critically, competitive logistics. These issues are crucial, especially for a country whose primary focus is exports. These issues could jeopardise sales in the long term as importers’ regulations grow increasingly stringent and freight costs continue to rise.
In the USA, greater mechanisation and advancements in soyabean production systems are observed, along with one of the best logistical structures globally. However, with the recent change in government, there is a possibility that there may be conflicts with China, the world’s largest soyabean importer, which could cut back its imports from the USA. This could present an opportunity for Chinese imports of Brazilian soyabeans. ● Tiago Vicente is an oilseeds specialist at Latin American commodity broker Aboissa
Figure
Figure 1: Brazil – soyabean planted area and production, 1990/91–2024/25
SOUTH AMERICA
South America is a leading producer of vegetable oils but climate change has affected production and yields; governments and farmers must adopt strategies to mitigate these effects and ensure sustainable harvests in the future
Júlia Vilela, Keywe Bonfim, Leonardo Novais, Felipe Di Marco, Maila Dias
In recent years, global agriculture has undergone profound changes driven by economic and environmental factors.
The production of vegetable oils has been significantly impacted by these pressures and the effects of climate change have become a critical variable, drastically altering agricultural practices, especially in vulnerable regions like South America. Understanding these climatic phenomena is essential for ensuring the sector’s sustainability.
South America stands out as a leading producer of vegetable oils, such as soyabean, palm and sunflower oils, alongside niche products like peanuts and corn.
However, environmental challenges such as those brought about by the El Niño and La Niña weather phenomena have had profound effects. These conditions alter precipitation and temperature patterns, impacting everything from large-scale soyabean and oil palm plantations to emerging crops such as olives, sunflowers and peanuts.
These climatic challenges also create cascading effects on supply chains, international trade and local economies, heightening the need for adaptive measures.
El Niño and La Niña
El Niño, characterised by the abnormal warming of Pacific waters, results in excessive rainfall in some regions and droughts in others. Conversely, La Niña, associated with the cooling of these waters, produces opposite effects.
The effects of these phenomena extend beyond immediate agricultural losses. El Niño and La Niña influence soil fertility, water availability and even pest and disease cycles. This necessitates the adoption of modern farming
Impact of climate
techniques, irrigation technologies and crop diversification strategies to mitigate risks. Scientific research and regional cooperation are becoming critical to predicting these events and preparing more resilient agricultural systems.
Impact in Brazil
With its vast size, Brazil faces diverse climatic impacts. During the first half of 2024, as the soyabean harvest concluded, the northern and northeastern regions experienced reduced rainfall and varying degrees of drought.
Despite a significant increase in soyabean production in these regions, late-season drought led to a slight decrease in productivity. In the centralwestern and southeastern regions, average temperatures rose but rainfall occurred at opportune times, mitigating potential impacts. Key soyabeanproducing states like Mato Grosso, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul maintained production levels, although national yields dropped by approximately 5%.
The lack of rain in the northern and
northeastern palm oil-producing regions hindered oil palm tree development, leading to lower yields per hectare and affecting fruit quality. High temperatures accelerated ripening and reduced the oil content of fruits. Normally, refineries operate with extraction rates of 2021% but during 2024, extraction rates dropped to 14-16%.
Smaller crops like sunflowerseed and peanuts suffered severe losses. Sunflower, used as a rotation crop with soyabeans in Mato Grosso and Goiás, experienced a 35% yield loss due to midyear drought. Similarly, peanuts – often rotated with sugarcane in São Paulo state – faced losses of 40-60% due to drought and extreme heat, with soil temperatures reaching 60°C in some areas. Several cities declared a state of emergency.
Brazil’s southern region faced extreme flooding due to El Niño, particularly in Rio Grande do Sul state. Soyabean, corn and rice cultivation areas were significantly impacted, with excessive rains and mud reducing soil fertility and affecting irrigated rice harvests.
SOUTH AMERICA
climate change
In the second half of 2024, La Niñainduced droughts ravaged the North, Northeast, Midwest and Southeast regions. Fires consumed vast areas of native forests, impacting ecosystems and compromising future harvests. The Amazon and Pantanal regions experienced devastating losses of vegetation, affecting farmers and biodiversity. Additionally, a water crisis reduced hydroelectric power availability, increasing costs for irrigation and grain transportation.
These cascading effects underscore the interconnected nature of climatic and economic challenges.
Impact in Argentina
Argentina faced its worst drought in over 60 years in 2023, with soyabean production halving. However, favourable rains and temperatures brought by El Niño in early 2024 led to a 10% increase in soyabean production.
Conversely, olive oil production declined by 30% as frosts, droughts and irregular rainfall affected olives in San
Soyabean and sunflowerseed production in Brazil and Argentina were both impacted by El Niño in 2024, with Brazil’s southern region facing extreme flooding
Juan and La Rioja provinces. The olive oil market, already weakened by a European crop failure in 2023, suffered further setbacks.
Sunflowerseed crops saw mixed results. Adequate rainfall in Buenos Aires province contrasted with excessive rains and drought in Córdoba province, leading to a national production loss of approximately 2.5%. For corn, the Pampean region – Argentina’s main producer – faced drought and high temperatures, resulting in reduced yields. Consequently, many farmers diversified their crops to improve profitability.
An increase in cotton planting was one outcome, as this crop adapts well to hot and humid climates. However, lack of rainfall during a critical planting window caused some darkened bolls.
Peanut production, mainly in Córdoba, showed better results, with an increase in planted area boosting exports to Europe.
In the latter half of 2024, low rainfall delayed soyabean and sunflower planting. Additionally, declining water levels in the Paraguay and Paraná rivers disrupted grain transport. Record low Paraguay River water levels hindered crop flow, worsening the water crisis.
Efforts to dredge these rivers and improve infrastructure are underway but progress has been slow due to financial constraints and bureaucracy.
Collaborative river basin management agreements with neighbouring countries could improve resource sustainability.
Colombia, Peru and Ecuador
The El Niño phenomenon has significantly affected palm oil production in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.
In early 2024, excessive rainfall in Ecuador and Colombia led to soil erosion, nutrient loss and the spread of diseases such as fatal yellowing, which impacts oil palms. These adverse conditions reduced crop productivity.
In the second half of the year, Peru and Ecuador experienced prolonged droughts and high temperatures, further compromising palm oil production. These
conditions reduced fruit quality and extraction rates at refineries.
Large-scale palm oil producers reported significant financial losses due to fruit deterioration and decreased output. Crop failures caused delayed deliveries, contract renegotiations and supply shortages. Lauric oils, essential for the soap industry, were particularly affected. With palm kernel oil production constituting just 10% of total palm oil output, shortages exacerbated market instability.
Outlook and challenges
With forecasts indicating prolonged droughts due to La Niña, agricultural recovery faces significant hurdles. Governments and farmers must adopt strategies to mitigate climate impacts and ensure sustainable harvests. Investments in technology, soil management and crop diversification will be essential.
Regional collaboration, including shared water management agreements and cross-border agricultural research initiatives, will also be critical. Publicprivate partnerships can expedite the development of climate-resilient infrastructure and practices.
Additionally, integrating indigenous knowledge into climate adaptation strategies offers valuable insights into sustainable land management.
Despite the challenges, innovation and cooperation can help Latin America build a more resilient agricultural sector. These efforts will not only safeguard food security but also enhance the region’s position in global agricultural markets.
The ability to adapt and innovate in response to climate change will ultimately shape the future of agriculture in this region. ●
Júlia Vilela is a sunflower and olive oil specialist; Keywe Bonfim is a soft oils aftersales specialist; Leonardo Novais is a corn oil specialist; Felipe Di Marco is an aftersales palm & lauric oils specialist; and Maila Dias is a palm and lauric oil specialist at Latin America commodity broker Aboissa
Photo: Adobe Stock
PROCESSING & TECHNOLOGY
A new perspective on enzymatic biodiesel
The need to source lower value feedstocks for biodiesel and renewable diesel production is making the enzymatic biodiesel process a viable and economic technology, particularly for new, largescale facilities Gabriele Bacchini
The biodiesel sector has experienced significant market changes in recent years, leading to the emergence of new solutions in processing and technology.
In the EU – one of the world’s largest biodiesel markets – the bloc’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) has a binding target that 42.5% of overall energy consumption must come from renewable sources by 2030. This includes binding targets in the transport sector that at least 29% of energy consumed must come from renewable sources by 2030, or that there must be a 14.5% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity from the use of renewables by 2030.
Palm-oil based biodiesel will not be counted towards achieving these targets, complicating the sourcing of raw materials, while biodiesel produced from some wastes and residues can be double counted, ie, 1kg is equivalent to 2kg.
In other parts of the world, biodiesel is increasingly being blended with diesel fuel. Indonesia, for example, introduced a nationwide B40 mandate this year, requiring a 40% blend rate of biodiesel with diesel fuel.
Coming only a few years after the introduction of B35, the change opens a new era for biodiesel production in the Southeast Asian region.
In Indonesia’s case, biodiesel is mainly derived from palm oil-based feedstocks, which are widely available locally and have a strategic advantage in terms of logistics for raw material sourcing.
However, the need to look for lower value feedstocks such as palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD), palm oil mill effluent (POME) and high acidity crude palm oil (HCPO) that are locally available, or by-products of extraction and refining, is becoming an important factor in evaluating new large-scale investments.
Finally, the appearance of a new group of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producers in recent years has brought a different perspective to the market.
Most of these new players have installed, or are planning to install, large-scale production plants and are therefore trading in traditional biodiesel feedstocks, even those considered to be of lower grade.
In this evolving scenario, the need for a flexible technology, able to process a wider range of feedstocks, has become
a priority. This is the main reason why many producers have started to consider enzymatic biodiesel production as an attractive option.
Enzymatic biodiesel technology is not a novel or recent process. It has already been studied and presented to the market, well before the mandatory use of low-grade feedstocks in biodiesel production.
The technology has not been implemented on a large scale because there has been no real advantage in using it over conventional transesterification, which has been cheaper from both a capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) perspective.
However, the need to use increasing amounts of low-grade feedstocks –even those that would not have been considered possible a few years ago – has revived this technology and, in some cases, made it a winner.
Enzymatic biodiesel technology
The enzymatic biodiesel technology works in a simple way (see Figure 1, following page). Depending on the feedstocks, pre-treatment – which is usually uncomplicated – may be necessary to remove some solid contaminants or other components, such as proteins or solid impurities that could interfere with the enzymatic reaction process.
The feedstock is then fed into a series of enzymatic reactors and reacts,
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with methanol and enzyme, under mild conditions (usually below 45°C) to produce crude methyl ester and glycerol.
The reaction itself can vary depending on the type of enzyme used, but the most commonly used enzymes typically have a dual action.
The first action is to split the mono-ditriglycerides to produce free fatty acids (FFAs) and glycerol. The glycerol then remains neutral for the next step, while the FFAs are reacted with methanol by the same enzyme to form the methyl ester.
The duration of the reaction is influenced by the initial FFA percentage in the feedstocks, and it is favoured by a high level of FFAs, which are usually found in the lower grade feedstocks most commonly available on the market.
After the reaction, the crude methyl ester is separated from the glycerol and further treated to be purified to the level required by biodiesel specifications such as EN14214, ASTM or SNI.
The treatments may differ depending on the technology providers but normally include some neutralisation steps to reduce the level of the residual FFAs down to a specification’s required level. Excess fatty matter can usually be recovered within the plant after appropriate treatments, to maximise plant yield. Depending on the type of feedstocks used, and the final biodiesel specification, there is also the option of adding a biodiesel distillation unit. This unit basically operates the same process as a traditional transesterification plant which has been revamped to work with lower grade feedstocks.
Finally, the enzymatic biodiesel technology also requires a methanol rectification unit to recover the excess methanol used in the reaction.
However, the purity of the methanol required by the process is 98%, which is lower than in traditional
transesterification, making this specific process unit more sustainable, compared with a conventional facility.
Comparing processes
The first consideration when comparing transesterification – which has been upgraded to work on lower grade feedstocks – against the enzymatic biodiesel process is economic.
Glycerolysis to convert FFAs into a glyceride mixture; stripping to remove FFAs to the level required for transesterification; oil washing; and special bleaching processes are all robust and well established technologies. These processes still remain valid options to upgrade an existing transesterification plant. From a CAPEX perspective, revamping an existing plant remains an optimal option, especially in a commodity market such as biodiesel.
The situation may change if a producer is planning a new investment – the comparison between the two routes tends to shift in favour of the enzymatic process, mainly due to:
• Flexibility of the feedstock to be used –Enzymatic biodiesel is not affected by the level of FFAs in the feedstock, whereas transesterification may require a change in the pre-treatment route, depending on the feedstocks’ FFA level. Consequently, the transesterification route would require robust pre-treatment to take into account a wider range of feedstocks, regardless of whether these feedstocks are used, resulting in a higher CAPEX.
• Yield – Most low-grade feedstocks have a high level of FFAs, which requires an esterification with glycerol to convert the fatty acids into a mono/ di/triglycerides mixture to be fed into the transesterification unit. Although this process is well established, the very low level of residual FFAs required –
together with the prolonged process time at a temperature that exceeds 200-220°C in most cases – will result in polymerisation of the feedstock. The polymerisation effect could be amplified with highly unsaturated feedstocks, which would create more polymers. This will be reflected in a lower yield during the final biodiesel distillation, mandatory when the feedstock is esterified, as the polymers will remain in the bottom distillation residue. Furthermore, the lower FFA content required by the transesterification process will oblige the producers to add a stripping unit to the esterification process to remove the excess FFAs, along with a considerable amount of monoglycerides formed during the esterification process. While the stripped by-product can be sent back to the esterification process, this material is re-processed, increasing the production cost per tonne of feedstock, as well as the possibility that polymers will form. In contrast, the enzymatic biodiesel process works under mild conditions, completely avoiding polymer formation, and consequently leading to a higher yield after the entire process.
• Material of construction – In some cases of transesterification pre-treatment, it may be necessary or preferable to use mineral acid to esterify high acidity feedstocks, which entails the use of special materials for the equipment, in addition to the difficulties of handling such mineral acids. Since enzymes are not chemically aggressive, there is no need to use special materials in construction for enzymatic biodiesel processing.
• CAPEX – Although an investment’s overall CAPEX is subject to the selected technology, the footprint of an enzymatic biodiesel plant – and consequent installation costs – favour the enzymatic solution, given the same feedstock flexibility.
Final considerations
This article presents the main advantages of enzymatic biodiesel technology over transesterification when installing a new plant. For an existing transesterification unit, the investment cost compared to revamping would not justify implementation of the enzymatic solution. The new challenge for biodiesel producers is to select the most appropriate technology for their new investments, based on flexibility and the expected availability of feedstocks in the future. ●
Gabriele Bacchini is the global sales director of CMB Spa
Source: CMB Spa
Courtesy of CMB S.p.A.
Figure 1: Enzymatic biodiesel – simplified block diagram
Global round-up of news
Oils & Fats
International reports on some of the latest projects, technology and process news and developments around the world
IN BRIEF
USA: Leading US energy firm Chevron’s renewable diesel expansion project at its Geismar, Louisiana biorefinery to boost capacity from 90M to 340M gallons/year is undergoing final commissioning, a 3 February Biodiesel magazine report quoted Chevron CEO Mike Wirth as saying during the the firm’s fourth quarter earnings call.
Enilive starts production of SAF in Italy at Gela facility
Enilive – a subsidiary of Italian energy multinational Eni – has begun production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its Gela facility in Italy (pictured), the firm said on 22 January.
The 400,000 tonnes/year plant in Sicily had capacity to process 736,000 tonnes/year of biomass, primarily derived from waste and residual feedstocks such as used cooking oil, animal fat and by-products from vegetable oil processing. Further investments would enable the processing of waste and residues feedstocks into hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), it added.
The plant had the capacity to
Axens to supply new projects
Clean fuels company Axens announced on 8 January that it would be supplying its Vegan hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO)/sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) technology to new projects by Portuguese multinational energy corporation Galp, Malaysian biofuels producer LOKEN and renewable energy firm SAFCO Venture Holdings.
The agreements would include the supply of the technology licence, catalysts, proprietary equipment, training and technical services, Axens said, adding that it expected to start up three further Vegan units this year.
Axens said its Vegan process could process a wide range of feedstocks such as vegetable oils, animal fats, tall oil and used cooking oil (UCO) to produce SAF or HVO and could be applied in both stand-alone and integrated refineries.
Astarta plans to build oilseed plant
Ukrainian agro-industrial holding company Astarta plans to build a 400,000 tonnes/year oilseed processing plant in the country’s Khmelnytsia region, according to a company Facebook post on 3 March.
The firm’s board of directors had approved the US$76M investment, with commissioning of the plant scheduled for 2026. The facility would process oil crops including soyabeans and rapeseed.
“Growing demand for soyabeans in the EU is opening up new opportunities, and we’re ready to make them a reality, leveraging on our experience and expertise,” said Vyacheslav Chuk, Astarta’s director of commercial activities and strategic marketing. “The new plant will allow us to expand our line of ingredients for feed.”
Astarta’s main activities are crop production, sugar production, dairy and meat farming, soyabean processing, grain logistics and bioenergy.
meet almost a third of Europe’s estimated SAF demand this year, following implementation of the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation, said consultancy firm
Wood Mackenzie.
Enilive said it aimed to achieve a biorefining capacity of more than 5M tonnes/year by 2030 and increase SAF production to 1M tonnes/year by 2026, with further potential to double production by 2030. This would be supported by ongoing projects at its Venice biorefinery and the construction of new biorefineries in Malaysia and South Korea.
Enilive CEO Stefano Ballista said that by 2026, its SAF plant in Porto Marghera at its Venice biorefinery would also be operational and, by 2030, other plants would be commissioned in Italy and elsewhere.
Photo: Eni
FCL pauses HVO and canola crushing plant
Canadian co-operative Federated Co-operatives Ltd (FCL) announced on 17 January that it had paused the two main projects related at its proposed Integrated Agriculture Complex in Regina, Saskatchewan – a renewable diesel facility and joint venture canola crushing plant.
This was due to regulatory and political uncertainty, potential shifts in low-carbon
public policy and escalating costs.
FCL CEO Heather Ryan said the decision was made after “a robust due diligence process that carefully considered our best pathway to meet compliance obligations, while ensuring investments are appropriate, and support our short and long-term sustainability goals”.
The joint venture canola crushing facility
with AGT Foods would have supplied feedstock to FCL’s renewable diesel facility.
FCL said it continued to pursue compliance with the Federal Government’s Clean Fuel Regulations including carbon capture projects at its Co-op Refinery Complex (CRC) and Co-op Ethanol Complex, as part of plans involving renewable fuel co-processing and blending at CRC.
OMV Petrom to build SAF refinery in Romania
Romanian energy company OMV Petrom has awarded UK engineering company John Wood Group a contract for work at its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) refinery in Romania.
As part of the project, OMV said on 19 December that it would invest €750M (US$805M) in its Petrobrazi refinery in a bid to become the first major SAF production facility in the region.
Following delivery of front-end engineering and design for the project, Wood would also deliver engineering, procurement and construction management to install a new bio-hydrotreater unit and relevant storage facilities.
In an earlier announcement on 11 June, OMV Petrom said its plans for the site included a SAF/hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) facility and two plants for green hydrogen for use in biofuels production. Located in the southern city of Ploiesti, the SAF/HVO production facility
would have a production capacity of 250,000 tonnes/year and would also produce by-products like bio-naphtha and bio-LPG, for use in the chemical industry, OMV Petrom said. OMV Petrom is the largest integrated energy producer in southeastern Europe, according to its website.
Topsoe technology for SAF plant in Guangxi
Process technology specialist Topsoe has signed an agreement with Chuangui New Energy company to provide technology and services for a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)/renewable fuel project in Qinzhou City, Guangxi, southwest China.
The plant would produce SAF and renewable diesel from used cooking oil (UCO) and was expected to be operational in December 2026, Topsoe said on 22 January. Once operational and at full capacity, the plant was expected to process 300,000 tonnes/year of feedstock into SAF and renewable diesel.
Topsoe said it would supply licensing and engineering design services and technologies, including its HydroFlex technology, proprietary equipment and catalysts. HydroFlex converts fats, oils and greases into drop-in renewable jet fuel and diesel and can be used in both grassroots units and revamps for co-processing or fully renewable applications.
The agreement was Topsoe’s second SAF project in China, following its work with Guangxi Free Trade Zone Hongkun Biomass Fuel Co in April 2024, the Danish company said.
Imperial Oil complex to begin operations in mid-2025
Canadian energy company Imperial Oil’s Strathcona renewable diesel project is set to become operational in mid-2025, according to a 3 February Biodiesel magazine report quoting company chairman, president and CEO Brad Corson.
Speaking during a fourth quarter earnings call, Corson said construction of the facility near Edmonton, Alberta, was expected to be completed during the second quarter, with initial production starting mid-year.
Once fully operational, the plant was expected to have the capacity to produce more than
1bn litres (264.17M gallons)/year of renewable diesel, the report said.
Imperial initially announced plans to build the 20,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) renewable diesel complex at its Strathcona refinery in mid-2021, with a final investment decision taken in January 2023 and construction starting soon after.
According to its website, Imperial Oil has upstream operations in Alberta and the Northwest Territories, refining activities in Alberta and Ontario, 21 terminals across Canada and more than 2,000 Esso and Mobil stations.
IN BRIEF
INDONESIA/MALAYSIA:
Malaysian process technology provider Oiltek Sdn Bhd announced on 26 February that it had entered into an agreement with Indonesian refining and petrochemical company Kilang Pertamina Internasional (KPI) in which it would build and source feedstock for a proposed pre-treatment unit in Indonesia.
The proposed joint venture aimed to explore alternative feedstocks to replace crude palm oil in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) products to meet growing export demand, especially from western Europe and East Asia, Oiltek said.
INDONESIA: Refining and petrochemical company Kilang Pertamina Internasional (KPI) announced on 16 December that it planned to increase its production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) from used cooking oil (UCO).
As part of its Cilacap Green Refinery project, KPI said it was aiming to process 6,000 barrels/day of UCO to produce HVO and SAF. The Cilacap refinery currently produces HVO from refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD) palm oil and SAF from RBD palm kernel oil.
The move to increase production followed KPI’s recent partnership with Indonesian UCO collector and exporter Gapura Mas Lestari (GML) to secure the supply of UCO for the project.
Photo: Adobe Stock
As the world’s second largest importer of edible oils and the top soyabean oil consumer, China holds a significant position in global vegetable oil trade, highlighted by its current conflict with the USA over trade tariffs Jens Kastner
Agriculture will likely feature at the forefront of US-China trade hostilities, reflecting its importance in the US export basket and the political importance of the US farm lobby, according to Nick Marro, principal economist for Asia and lead for global trade at insight and analysis provider the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
China will see targeting US agricultural products as a tempting prospect for retaliation, he says, speaking after the USA announced trade tariffs on Chinese imports into the country.
A 10% additional tariff on all Chinese goods coming into the USA was announced by US President Donald Trump on 4 February, which was doubled to 20% on 4 March. The tariffs come on top of tariffs Trump imposed in his first term on tens of billions of dollars of Chinese imports.
Beijing has hit back by announcing a broad package of economic measures targeting the USA.
Duties on US goods, which took effect on 10 February, include a 15% tax on certain types of coal and liquefied natural gas and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement cars and pick-up trucks. Oils and fats were not included but following the second round of US tariffs, China said it was imposing a 10% tariff on US soyabeans, sorghum (a potential oil source) and dairy products.
As OFI went to press, it was unclear whether the trade blows would escalate or if the two countries would sit down and negotiate.
“China will fight to the bitter end of any trade war,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on 4 March. However, he also said the USA was advised to “put away its bullying face and return to the right track of dialogue and cooperation before it is too late”.
Marro says that US-China agricultural trade flows have changed quite significantly since Trump’s first term, with China having made decent progress on diversifying its import sources for key
Soya in focus in US trade war
commodities, like soyabeans, which it is increasingly purchasing from countries like Brazil and Argentina.
“The tariffs are broadly negative for US agricultural markets,” Ole Houe of Ikon commodities was quoted as saying by Reuters. ”It is going to have a bearish influence on prices. There are enough corn and soyabean supplies in the world for China to make a switch, it is more of an issue for the USA, because 30% of US soyabeans still go to China.”
Chinese oil consumption
China is the world’s largest consumer of soyabean oil, but it relies heavily on imported soyabeans to produce it. It imports 80-85% of its soyabeans, which are primarily crushed for soyabean oil and meal for animal feed, according to US Department of Agriculture and UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) statistics.
The Chinese government has been promoting increased domestic soyabean production, but growth is slow.
The country has moved more aggressively to expand domestic planting
programmes, including greenlighting some genetically modified (GM) strands of soyabean, “which has broken with its previous hesitation towards GM crops”, Dan Wang, former chief economist at Hang Seng Bank, told OFI.
Soyabean oil is China’s top consumed vegetable oil, according to Shanghaibased data provider Wind. Consumption of soyabean oil reached 18.8M tonnes in 2024, a record high in the past 14 years, while consumption of rapeseed oil was 9.6M tonnes, the second highest in the past 14 years. Palm oil consumption was 5.8M tonnes in 2024.
Daisy Li, associate director of food and drink research, APAC, at market intelligence and research agency Mintel, said in the Chinese market: “Rapeseed oil is recognised for its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids, which can help lower cholesterol and support cardiovascular health.”
In particular, ‘double-low’ rapeseed oil, which is characterised by low levels of erucic acid and glucosinolates in the rapeseed meal, is often referred to in China as “’the healthiest staple cooking oil’ and
Photo: Adobe Stock
CHINA
enjoys a strong reputation in the market”.
Conversely, the market share of blended oils, such as vegetable oil with olive oil, has been declining due to consumer concerns over non-standardised formulations and unclear labelling, she adds.
The consumption of palm oil and peanut oil was stable last year at about 5.8M tonnes and 3.3M tonnes, respectively, according to Wind. However, in terms of pricing, palm oil performed strongly (up 24.5% year-on-year), followed by vegetable oils (up 12.5%), and soyabean oil (up 1.5%).
“Palm [oil] typically trades at a discount to soyabean oil or rapeseed oil, but it was trading at a large premium due to issues in [top producers] Malaysia and Indonesia,” Darin Friedrichs, co-founder and market research director at Shanghai-based agri consultancy Sitonia Consulting, told OFI
Supplies have been restricted by excessive rain and floods; regulatory restrictions on palm oil production and exports; and a rise in Indonesian consumption due to the implementation of its B40 biodiesel blending programme using palm oil-based biodiesel.
On 8 January, the Indonesian government also tightened exports of palm oil mill effluent (POME), high acid palm oil residue (HAPOR) and used cooking oil (UCO) to support B40 production.
The measure could cause the futures price of palm oil to rise and fluctuate between CNY8,000-CNY10,500 (US$1,100-US$1,440)/tonne, China-based financial company CITIC Construction Investment Futures predicted on 6 January.
Against this backdrop, Gelin Dahua Futures predicts that China’s palm oil imports will fall this year, with more domestic consumption shifting to soyabean oil. In contrast, the supply of rapeseed oil has more uncertainties.
“Two major external factors are uncertain, specifically whether the import volume of Canadian rapeseed raw materials and Russian rapeseed oil can remain stable,” Gelin Dahua Futures wrote in Chinese-language oils and fats trade online publication Gao You Wang on 6 January.
This is dependent on whether there is a diplomatic rupture between China and Canada over human rights concerns and cybersecurity issues, and if Russia ceases its invasion of Ukraine, opening up new markets for its rapeseed oil which may lead to Chinese imports of Russian rapeseed oil falling.
Edible oil demand
Looking across the edible oils market, Friedrichs notes that Chinese demand for edible oils has been soft since December
‘There are enough corn and soyabean supplies in the world for China to make a switch ... it is more of an issue for the USA because 30% of US soyabeans still go to China’
2024, with the country’s December 2024 consumer price index falling to just 0.1%, indicating overall weak general consumer demand.
“Consumers are not spending as much and are downgrading their consumption, including in restaurants, which are a big driver of oil consumption,” he says.
Edible oil demand has also been knocked by a scandal reported in July last year by state media outlet The Beijing News about edible oil being transported in mixed-use container trucks in Hebei and Tianjin, sometimes without proper cleaning, Friedrichs says.
In response, China’s State Council launched an investigation, resulting in a new regulation which took effect on 1 February requiring trucks carrying edible oil to be used for this purpose only.
Mintel’s Daisy Li observes that since the second half of 2023, most cooking oil prices in China have been declining, with steeper falls in 2024, with a yearon-year drop of 4.8% between January and August. This price decrease has been primarily driven by higher crop yields, such as soyabean and corn, in international and domestic markets, resulting in abundant supply, she says.
The lower prices have not significantly increased Chinese consumer demand.
“Household consumption of cooking oil tends to remain stable and concerns over shelf life deter stockpiling,” Li says. “The growing emphasis on healthy eating has also prompted widespread advocacy for low-oil diets, leading consumers to pay closer attention to oil usage in cooking.”
Dan Wang told OFI that he has observed a rising trend in health consciousness, reducing consumption of oils- and fatsbased food, as illustrated by the flourishing
of new restaurants that focus on salad and low-carb meals in cities.
UCO, HVO and SAF
On the domestic production front, China removed a 13% export tax rebate on UCO, effective on 1 December. UCO is a key feedstock for biodiesel and renewable diesel, signalling a shift towards valueadded processing of UCO in China.
This triggered immediate changes in UCO prices in China, according to USDA data. On the procurement side, waste oil prices dropped significantly. In north China, export-quality brown grease, which averaged CNY6,800 (US$940)/tonne on 15 November, fell 11% to CNY6,100 (US$843)/tonne by 18 November. Gutter oil prices in east China also fell, declining by 6% to CNY5,000 (US$691)/tonne.
Several processing plants have paused waste oil collection, awaiting further market developments.
“The removal of the tax rebate validated our view that China seeks to keep as much value added in the country as possible and shift the export focus from raw materials to finished products,” says Detlef Evers, managing director of Germany-based SME Association for Waste-Based Fuels (Mittelstandsverband abfallbasierter Kraftstoffe - MVaK),
Speaking to OFI, he adds that China is “building up processing capacity to increase output of HVO [hydrotreated vegetable oil] and SAF [sustainable aviation fuel].”
Evers predicts that this would complicate the EU’s sourcing strategies, with declining Chinese UCO imports coming at a time when EU biofuel producers need more sustainable feedstock to meet the targets set by its EU renewable energy directive (RED), ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation and the FuelEU Maritime Regulation.
EU anti-dumping duties on imports of HVO and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from China officially came into force on 10 February.
The measures were introduced following an anti-dumping investigation into the impact of biodiesel imports from China on the EU biodiesel industry, the EU Directorate-General for Trade, said in a statement on 11 February. Chinese exports into the EU market would be subject to an anti-dumping duty of between 21.7% and 35.6%, except for EcoCeres, which would be subject to a 10% duty.
Ever stresses that the anti-dumping tariffs currently do not cover SAF, which sets the stage for increased SAF imports into the EU from China. ●
Jens Kastner writes for International News Service, UK
China is a major producer and consumer of surfactants, with risng incomes and changing lifestyles driving increased consumption of personal care products, household cleaners and detergents, as well as growing industrial applications Yu Jing
Market outlook
China is a major producer and consumer of surfactants worldwide, which are mainly used to produce detergents.
Surfactant products are divided into four categories – anionic, non-ionic, cationic and amphoteric – the main products being anionics and non-ionics (see box below).
Anionic products chiefly include fatty alcohol ether sulphate (AES), alkyl sulphate (AS), alkylbenzene sulphonic acid (LAS) and olefin sulphonate (AOS).
Four surfactant classifications
Every surfactant is composed of two separate regions – the hydrophobic (‘water fearing’) tail and the hydrophilic (‘water loving’) head. It is the charge of the hydrophilic head that determines how the surfactant is classified and the application opportunities for each surfactant.
Cationic surfactants have a positive charge on the hydrophilic head of the molecule, making them useful in anti-static products like fabric softeners and hair conditioners, and in anti-microbial application where the positively-charged surfactant can interact at the microbial interface and kill the cell.
Anionic surfactants have a negative charge, contributing to the surfactants’ soil lift and removal capabilities. They are most frequently used in detergents, cleaning products, shampoos and cleansers.
Non-ionic surfactants have a neutral charge and are very good emulsification –mixing oil and water. They make great wetting agents, enabling an even dispersion of liquids, and can be used in conjunction with an anionic surfactant for extra lifting power when emulsifying oil-based soils.
Amphoteric surfactants have both a positive and a negative charge. The acidity of the solutions they are used in will determine these surfactants’ function. They will be positively charged in acidic solutions, negatively charged in basic or alkaline solutions, and have a neutral charge in a neutral solution. These surfactants are often used in personal care products like shampoos, cosmetics and toiletries. Locus Ingredients
There are around 70 producers of surfactants in China and total surfactants output reached 4.585M tonnes in 2023, with consumption totalling around 4M tonnes that year.
China’s surfactants market is growing significantly. Production is mainly centred around AES, LAS, fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether (AEO) and fatty alcohol sulphate (FAS), followed by AOS and secondary alkane sulfonate (SAS). Derived from plant-based sugars and vegetable oils, amino acid surfactants (AAS), alkyl polyglycosides (APG) and methyl ester sulphonates (MES) have shown a significant growth trend in recent years due to growing consumer preferences for natural and green products.
It is expected that China’s production of anionic surfactants will continue to increase, with a growth rate of 5% in the next five years. As the largest market for surfactants globally, China’s demand is also projected to continue expanding over the next decade.
Key drivers
Rising incomes and changing lifestyles have led to increased consumption of personal care products, household cleaners and detergents in China. Rapid urbanisation and industrial growth are also contributing to the rising need for surfactants in the construction and automotive industries.
Meanwhile, innovations in surfactant formulations are enhancing their effectiveness and sustainability.
Photo: Adobe Stock
SURFACTANTS/CHINA
Source: China International Chemical Consulting Corp (CICCC)
Source: China International Chemical Consulting Corp (CICCC)
Source: General Administration of Customs, China
Consumption
China’s consumption of anionic surfactants reached 150,000 tonnes in 2023 (see Figure 1, above). The largest application area for surfactants in China is detergents and this industry substantially drives surfactant growth. Liquid synthetic
detergents have seen the greatest growth in recent years, and will continue to develop over the next five years. Despite China‘s economic slowdown, future demand in the detergents industry will remain relatively stable and it is forecast that the country’s surfactants
demand will see average growth of about 5% during 2024-2030.
Imports and exports
China is a net exporter of surfactants. The country mainly exports anionic and non-ionic surfactants like AES and LAS. Imported products comprise highperformance, high value-added products such as phosphate esters and amino acids.
In 2023, China’s total export of surfactants was 533,000 tonnes, a rise of 36.4% compared with the previous year.
Its anionic exports mainly comprised AES and LAS.
Trends and outlook
Looking to the future, China’s surfactants market will see innovation in laundry detergents related to performance, multifunctionality and eco-friendly benefits.
Development in industrial applications will be seen in sectors such as textiles, industrial washing, petroleum and leather.
There will also be growth in high performance and high value-added products.
Sustainability goals have become important including looking at the entire life cycle of products – from raw materials to finished products, to packaging and transportation – in order to increase sustainability at every step.
Some of these efforts include using renewable energy, improving biodegradability, using bio-based ingredients and cold water washing.
Multi-functionality has also been an objective of new product development. Companies, for example, are searching for surfactants that will provide wetting and shine on hard surfaces rather than having to use two different ingredients to achieve these results. Multi-functional laundry detergents may contain stain-removing enzymes, fabric softeners, disinfectants, bleaches or deodorisers.
Conclusion
China’s surfactant market is driven by economic, urbanisation and evolving consumer preferences towards sustainable products. Companies will need to adapt to regulatory changes and shifting consumer demands to maintain their competitive edge and must improve and develop new production technologies.
The government is also encouraging green surfactants and the high-end surfactants industry in China. ● Yu Jing is a senior chemical engineer at China International Chemical Consulting Corporation. This article is based on a presentation she made at the 10th ICIS Asian Surfactants Conference in November 2024
Figure 1: China’s demand for anionic surfactants, 2019-2023 (10,000 tonnes)
Figure 2: China’s forecast supply & demand trends for anionic surfactants
Figure 3: China’s anionic surfactants export, 2019-2023
7-8 April 2025
8th Leipzig Symposium Leipzig, Germany
https://veranstaltungen.gdch.de/ microsite/index.cfm?l=11740&modus=
8-9 April 2025
Fastmarkets Feedstocks and Biofuels Europe Rotterdam, The Netherlands www.fastmarkets.com/events/biofuelsand-feedstocks-europe/
16-17 April 2025
Baltic Grains and Oils Conference Riga, Latvia www.apk-inform.com/ru/conferences/ baltic-grain-oils-conference-2025/about
22-24 April 2025
Argus Biofuels & Feedstocks Asia Conference Singapore www.argusmedia.com/en/events/ conferences/biofuels-and-feedstocksasia-conference
24 April 2025
Black Sea Grain Kyiv 2025 Intercontinental Hotel, Kyiv, Ukraine https://ukragroconsult.com/en/ conference/black-sea-grain-kyiv-2025/
27-30 April 2025
AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo Portland, Oregon, USA https://annualmeeting.aocs.org/
5-7 May 2025
Globoil International Dubai Hyatt Regency, Dubai United Arab Emirates www.globoilinternational.com/
6-8 May 2025
Sustainable Aviation Futures Congress Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.safcongress.com
7-8 May 2025
15th ICIS World Surfactants Conference Hyatt Regency, Jersey City, USA https://events.icis.com/website/8544/
13-15 May 2025
Fenagra 2025
São Paulo, Brazil www.fenagra.com.br/
13-15 May 2025
GrainCom25
President Wilson Hotel, Geneva Switzerland www.graincomevents.com/
14-15 May 2025
Palmex Indonesia 2025
Jakarta International Expo (JIEXPO) Indonesia https://palmex-indo.com/
4-7 June 2025
EFPRA Congress 2025
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10-11 June 2025
IGC International Grains Conference 116 Pall Mall, London, UK www.igc.int/en/conference/reginfo.aspx
10-11 June 2025
World Bio Markets
Fokker Terminal, The Hague The Netherlands www.worldbiomarkets.com
11-12 June 2025
Oleofuels 2025
Barcelona, Spain www.wplgroup.com/aci/event/oleofuels
24-25 June 2025
Biofuels International Conference & Expo Brussels, Belgium https://biofuels-news.com/conference/ about-biofuels-conference-expo/
25-26 June 2025
Argus Biofuels & Feedstocks Latin America Conference
São Paulo, Brazil www.argusmedia.com/en/events/ conferences/latin-america-biofuels
29 June-2 July 2025
16th Congress of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids & Lipids (ISSFAL)
Quebec City, Canada www.issfalcongress.com
31 August-5 September
FOSFA Introductory & Advanced Courses
The University of Greenwich, London, UK www.fosfa.org/education/
DIARY OF EVENTS
4-5 September 2025
12th High Oleic Congress Amsterdam, The Netherlands http://higholeicmarket.com/hoc-2019/ 15-19 September 2025
World Congress on Oils & Fats and ISF Lectureship Series 2025
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30 September-1 October 2025
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12-15 October 2025
Euro Fed Lipid Congress and Expo Leipzig, Germany https://veranstaltungen.gdch.de/ microsite/index.cfm?l=11649&modus=
14-16 October 2025
Sustainable Aviation Futures North America Congress
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20-22 October 2025
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North American Renderers Association Annual Convention
Ritz Carlton Bacara, California, USA https://convention.nara.org
6 November 2025
FOSFA Annual Dinner
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18-20 November 2025
MPOB International Palm Oil Congress and Exhibition (PIPOC 2025)
Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Malaysia https://pipoc.mpob.gov.my/
STATISTICS
STATISTICAL NEWS
World soyabean production
Brazil, the USA and Argentina collectively account for 80% of global soyabean production, with China following a long way behind with a market share of 5%. According to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates, Brazil is set to harvest a record 169M tonnes of soyabeans in the current crop year, compared with 153M tonnes a year earlier. The US soyabean harvest was already complete by the end of 2024, totalling around 118.8M tonnes, an almost 5.6M tonne rise over the previous year the largest crop in three years. Third-ranked Argentina is expected to harvest 49M tonnes this crop year, around 790,000 tonnes more than the previous year, according to research by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (AMI).
EU sunflowerseed crop
The 2024 EU sunflowerseed harvest is projected at around 8M tonnes, a year-on-year decline of 18% as unfavourable weather conditions throughout the year significantly curtailed yield potential, according to the European Commission (EC). The crop represents the EU’s smallest sunflowerseed harvest since 2015.
German production is forecast at 127,000 tonnes, a 25% fall from 2023, although about 20% above the five-year average as many farmers significantly expanded cultivation in 2022 following the start of the war in Ukraine and the sharp rise in producer prices, but scaled back production the following year. The harvest in Romania also declined compared to 2023, falling 38% to 1.2M tonnes, the country’s smallest harvest in 15 years. Hungary became the EU’s top sunflowerseed producer for the first time, harvesting 1.7M tonnes. France ranks as the second largest producer at 1.7M tonnes.
Indonesia biodiesel allocation and distribution
Indonesia’s palm oil consumption for 2024/25 is expected to increase by 2% to 22M tonnes in 2024/25 on higher industrial use under the country’s B40 biodiesel blending programme, according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) Indonesia Oilseeds and Products Update published on 25 February. In January, the government set the total biodiesel allocation for the year at 15.62bn litres. After a full year of B40 implementation, approximately 80-92% of the total biofuel allocation would be met, the report said. Therefore, 2024/25 palm oil industrial use is estimated at 14.7M tonnes, 300,000 tonnes higher than in 2023/24.
Malaysian and Indonesian palm oil production
Varying rainfall deficits have resulted in different palm oil production patterns in Malaysia and Indonesia, Julian McGill, managing director of Glenauk Economics, told the Palm & Lauric Oils Price Outlook Conference & Exhibition (POC2025) on 24-26 February. Malaysian output increased in 2024 due to the arrival of additional plantation workers, but drought and disease will result in a slight fall in output to 19.2M tonnes in 2025. Indonesian output declined in 2024 but, with better rainfall, 2025 will see output growth of 2.2M tonnes.
Indonesia biodiesel allocation and realised distribution (billion litres)
Source:
EU harvest of sunflowerseeds by country of production (‘000 tonnes)
Note: p = preliminary, f = forecast
Top soyabean producers’ harvest (million tonnes)
