• Bloomberg quoted Indonesia’s Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency as saying that  the government expects to issue a new rule in June that would require exporters to trade  CPO on local exchanges before shipping the products overseas. Indonesia would have its  own CPO benchmark pricing by the end of the year once the regulation takes place. The new  policy would enable the government to use local pricing as the only reference for determining  export duties.

• According to Bloomberg also, the Biden administration has dropped for now a plan that  would have awarded credits to automakers, such as Tesla Inc, for using renewable natural gas to power electric vehicles. Under the proposal, carmakers would be folded into the 18- year-old Renewable Fuel Standard that requires refiners to blend biofuels into gasoline and  diesel. Electric vehicle manufacturers would be able to claim new tradeable credits in  exchange for using electricity generated from natural gas harvested from landfills or farms.

• Reuters cited data as showing that China’s soybean imports from Brazil fell 16% YoY in April  2023. China imported 5.3mil tonnes of soybeans from Brazil vs. 6.3mil tonnes a year ago. A  delayed Brazilian harvest and loading of beans slowed shipments while increased  inspections by China on soybean arrivals last month further reduced imports, traders said.  So far this year, imports from Brazil remained 28% behind that a year ago with 9.2mil tonnes  in 4M2023 compared with 12.7mil tonnes in 4M2022.

• Euractive.com quoted biofuel producers as saying that the new greenhouse gas emission  reduction target for transport fuels under the updated Renewable Energy Directive could  reduce the amount of crop-based biofuels used in German road transport if implemented  strictly. Under revised rules for the transport sector, EU countries must oblige fuel  companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of their used fuels by at least 14.5% by 2030.

• Alternatively, they can opt for a target of 29% renewable energy for all energy used in the  transport sector. For Germany, the 14.5% target could be reached as early as 2028F. This is  based on the currently planned roll-out of alternative fuels such as biofuels, synthetic fuels, and electric mobility. Due to the growing use of electric vehicles, the target would  theoretically be overachieved in the years forward. As fuel producers have no obligation or  incentive to overachieve the target, this would lead to a decrease in the use of conventional biofuels .

Source: AmInvest Research - 29 May 2023