International trends

   The development and promotion of biodiesel is of great significance to China. In addition to its advantages such as improving automobile exhaust emissions, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and decreasing dependence on crude oil, it can also make reasonable use of gutter oil, reduce the risk of it flowing back to the dining table, and effectively ensure food safety and people's health.

    Biodiesel has developed rapidly in some regions of China in recent years, with a national production of over 1 million tons in 2019 and now exceeding 2 million tons. At the same time, the domestic production of hydrocarbon based biodiesel has also greatly increased, currently approaching 1 million tons.

However, due to the limited application channels of biodiesel, nearly half of China's biodiesel exports to Europe, and some regions in China are unable to promote the use of biodiesel due to the national standard for B5 diesel, which restricts the amount of biodiesel added.

   India

   Just last week, the Indian government vetoed the blending of nearly 5% ethanol with diesel in order to achieve the goal of a 20% ethanol to gasoline blending ratio in the next two years. Instead, the focus shifted to UCO to achieve the 2030 biodiesel blending target of 5%. However, the current problem facing India is limited access to raw materials for biodiesel production.

   According to data released by the US USDA, the total export volume of biodiesel in the second quarter of 2024 was 198908.10 tons, with a total export value of $269.5 million; The total import volume is 434647.40 tons, with a total import value of 584.56 million US dollars. As a result, the total export volume of biodiesel from the United States in the first half of the year (January June) was 292057.90 tons, with a total export value of 404.21 million US dollars; The total import volume is 898990.20 tons, with a total import value of 1.23816 billion US dollars. The total export volume of biodiesel in the first half of 2023 (January June) in the United States was 440310.90 tons, with a total export value of 794.63 million US dollars; The total import volume is 795252.00 tons, with a total import value of 1.39497 trillion US dollars. Comparing the two sets of data, it can be seen that the export volume of biodiesel in the United States will decrease significantly in 2024, by 148253 tons or 33.67%; The import volume increased by 103738.2 tons, an increase of 11.54%. However, the total import amount decreased by $156.81 million, indicating a decrease in import unit prices and a reduction in the cost of importing biodiesel into the United States.