EU-27 Feb feedstock imports drop, biodiesel flows up
23.04.2020 (Argus Media) - EU-27 imports of feedstocks from outside the bloc were lower on the year in February, while imports of biodiesel nearly doubled from a year earlier, according to provisional Eurostat figures.
Flows of fatty acid methyl ester (Fame) attributed to a specific non-EU partner country stood at 275,000t in February, 95pc higher than in the same month last year but 8pc lower on the month, when they hit the [highest January level in Argus records](https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2088998), which date back to 2012. Small volumes are also imported from unspecified countries. The year on year increase is likely to have been supported by higher 2020 blending mandates in EU countries under the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). EU volumes for 2019 do not include UK imports.
Total EU-27 imports, including intra-EU movements, more than halved on the year to 380,000t. Exports were 61pc lower than a year earlier at 40,000t, with Germany exporting 28,000t.
EU imports of used cooking oil (UCO) from outside the bloc fell to their lowest since June 2017 in February and were 24pc lower on the year at 95,000t. The decrease in UCO imports follows restriction movements and restaurant closures in China, the EU's largest UCO importer, in February because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Flows of UCO from China in February were 28pc higher on the month at 23,000t, but were 40pc lower compared with February last year. Movement control orders in Malaysia and lockdowns in parts of Indonesia have also restricted local UCO collection there, further affecting EU imports.
Flows of palm oil were 3pc lower from February 2019 at 604,000t, with the decline likely to be driven by higher biodiesel mandates in southeast Asia.
Indonesia rolled out a 30pc mixture of biodiesel in transport (B30) mandate on 1 January and started trials for a B40 blend in March, while Malaysia started phasing in a higher B20 blend in transport in February, although the country halted nationwide implementation this month as it focuses on containing the coronavirus outbreak.
Flows of soybean oil from outside the EU fell by 9pc on the year and by 24pc on the month to 29,000t.