• Bloomberg reported that President Biden’s tax and spending plan calls for a suite of measures aimed at boosting biofuels including US$1bil in infrastructure investments and a tax credit to support growth of sustainable jet fuel. The US$1.75 trillion package also calls for a four-year extension of the biodiesel tax credit, which will expire at the end of 2022F. The bill includes funding for the USDA to distribute grants over 10 years to expand biofuel pump infrastructure, upgrade equipment and increase the use of fuel with higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel.

• According to Bloomberg also, Belgium is trying to water down the EU’s sanctions on Belarus’ potash industry to ease difficulties that companies are facing in implementing the measures. Diplomats in Brussels have written to other EU states, requesting a loosening of restrictions on Belarusian potash to allow for changes to the potassium content of fertiliser imports. Belgium is proposing that the EU allow for a deviation of as much as 2% from the currently permitted levels of potassium. Belgium added that if European companies are forced to source potash from elsewhere, it would lead to price spikes and low quality supplies.

• The Guardian of the UK cited a Greenpeace study as saying that almost a fifth of the land used for Indonesian oil palm plantations is located in the country’s forest estates in spite of a law banning such activity. Of the estimated 16.38mil hectares of oil palm plantations in Indonesia, about 19% are located in forests. The analysis produced using maps of industrial oil palm plantation concessions and satellite imagery, found that at the end of 2019, there were 3.12mil hectares of oil palm plantations in forest estates. Half were industrial oil palm plantations. At least 600 plantation companies had set up operations in the forest estates. It is not clear what proportion of the plantations have been legalised.

• S&P Global Platts reported that China has recorded strong corn imports for September. Also, November hog futures on the Dalian Stock Exchange have posted a 23.3% increase since the end of September. China imported 3.53mil tonnes of corn in September, up 227% YoY according to the country’s custom data. The US was the top exporter to China at 3.34mil tonnes in September. China’s corn imports amounted to 25.0mil tonnes in total in 9M2021, up 274.5% YoY. The livestock industry is a major consumer of corn feed.

• Reuters reported that China’s soybean oil prices hit a near 10-year high a few weeks ago on tight supply and robust demand. This lifted soybean crushing margins to six-month highs despite weak demand for soymeal from the hog sector. China’s soybean oil rally has been driven by domestic and international markets. An industry expert said that the Chinese oil market is expecting a peak demand season for oils before it gets cold. On the supplies end, crushers cut operations in many areas due to power curbs, which pushed up prices.

Source: AmInvest Research - 1 Nov 2021