• Reuters reported that Malaysia has not abandoned the option to file a World Trade Organisation (WTO) suit against European Union’s (EU) restrictions on palm biofuel. Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok said that the country’s highest level legal team is examining the potential response to make its petition as watertight as possible. Malaysia has always agreed to intervene as a co-complainant and join the likes of Indonesia and other palm producers at the opportune juncture at the WTO proceedings.

• According to Reuters also, although Brazil might not be harvesting soybeans at a record pace, the farmers have been selling their crops faster than usual due to the weak currency and uncertainty over how the China-US trade deal will affect their business. As of 14 February 2020, farmers in Mato Gross, which is Brazil’s top producing state, had sold 68% of their 2019/2020F crops compared with last year and the five-year average of 54%. Brazil typically ships more than half of its annual soybean between March and June and about 75% of the soybeans are exported to China.

• Bloomberg reported that prices for biofuel credits in the US have risen after an appeals court said that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) wrongly waived three refineries from requirements to use ethanol. Traders are now anticipating that previously exempted refineries will be forced to comply with the ethanol mandates. The Trump administration is still weighing its response to the court ruling, which could include seeking a hearing before the full 10th Circuit Court of Appeals or appealing to the Supreme Court.

• Biofuels International quoted a study by ABF Economics as saying that policy challenges, especially trade disputes and the EPA’s granting of exemptions to small oil refineries, dampened the US ethanol industry’s economic contribution in 2019. In spite of this, the US ethanol industry supported almost 350,000 jobs and generated almost US$43bil in GDP in 2019. Also, the ethanol industry generated an estimated US$4.1bil in tax revenue to the federal government in 2019.

• The Star Online cited researchers as saying that the British government’s Soft Drinks Industry Levy, which was introduced in April 2018, has resulted in soft drinks manufacturers in the UK lowering the sugar levels in their drinks. The research was carried out by teams in the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of Exeter and University of Bath and is funded by the UK National Institute for Health Research. Prior to the announcement of the sugar levy, 52% of the eligible drinks were liable for the tax. By February 2019, only 15% of the drinks were liable for the sugar tax.

Source: AmInvest Research - 24 Feb 2020