• Bloomberg reported that European biodiesel producers have dropped their request for the EU to investigate whether Indonesian biofuel has been avoiding import duties by transiting via China and the UK. The European Biodiesel Board is no longer pursuing the probe. While it did not explicitly provide a reason for the change, it was noted that biodiesel shipments to the European Union from China’s Hainan Island “immediately stopped” after the start of the investigation last August. As probes normally happen at the request of producers, the withdrawal means that the EU investigation will likely stop. Hainan shipped 470,000 tonnes of biodiesel to the EU in 2022.

• Reuters reported that European environmental group, Transport and Environment (T&E) has criticised Eni in a report, saying that the group’s use of a palm oil by-product in its biofuel output showed that it was reneging on previous commitments. In 2020, Eni pledged to become palm oil-free in its refineries by 2023 and in October 2022, it said that it had met the goal ahead of the schedule. However, T&E’s report showed evidence of tankers transporting palm oil fatty acid distillate (PFAD) to Eni’s refineries last year. In response, Eni said it has been a palm oil-free company since the end of 2022 and the use of PFAD is allowed under EU and Italian regulations.

• According to Reuters also, the US has been losing corn export business to Brazil as the latter continues expanding its output. Top customer, Mexico, however, has secured a record volume of US corn for shipments this year. This is despite an active dispute with the US over Mexico’s proposal to curb genetically modified (GM) corn imports, which if enforced, could dent US corn exports. The US has challenged Mexico’s efforts under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement and a resolution could be reached by March 2024. As at 18 January, a record 15.3mil tonnes of US corn were on the books for shipment to Mexico in 2023/2024F.

• India Today reported that the country’s rice exports reached a record high a few weeks ago due to limited supplies and steady demand from Asian and African buyers, with the 5% broken parboiled variety quoted at US$533 to US$542/tonne, up from US$525 to US$535 in the previous week as government paddy buying and ongoing rice milling for the new season reduced availability. An industry player said that supplies in the market are limited since the government’s paddy buying is leaving little for private players. India’s rice output is expected to drop this year for the first time in 8 years, raising concerns over potential export restrictions to control food prices before the elections.

Source: AmInvest Research - 5 Feb 2024