German biodiesel exports hit record level.
Foreign trade in biodiesel is set to be brisk in 2024. More specifically, German exports in the first six months rose just less than 16 per cent on the year-earlier period, whereas imports even increased as much as 24 per cent. Nevertheless, the export surplus grew to 0.76 million tonnes (previous year 0.72 million tonnes). From the perspective of the Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen e. V. (UFOP), these exports are an extremely important outlet to ease the pressure on the rapeseed oil and biodiesel markets. They keep the oil mills working at full capacity and secure market supply with rapeseed meal as a protein source. However, the UFOP has stated that the excess of exports could also have been used to decarbonise the transport sector in Germany.
According to figures published by the German Federal Statistical Office, Germany exported around 1.7 million tonnes of biodiesel in the first half year of 2024. On the other hand, imports amounted to 906,719 tonnes. The Netherlands continued to be the primary trading partner, accounting for 47 per cent and 52 per cent of total exports and imports respectively. The import volume increased for the third consecutive year. According to investigations conducted by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (mbH), larger supplies also came from Malaysia and Belgium, whereas imports from Poland, Finland and Austria fell short of the previous year’s volumes.
The main recipient countries of German biodiesel also were EU countries, headed by the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Austria and France. The most important non-EU country was the US, although US imports dropped around 46 per cent to just under 131,000 tonnes in the first half year of 2024.
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German biodiesel exports hit record level. source
