• Bloomberg reported that China has launched an anti-dumping probe on pork imports from EU. China is the EU’s biggest overseas market for pork although export volumes have fallen in recent years due to domestic oversupply and low prices. The trade was worth US$1.8bil in 2023, with farmers in Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands being the biggest beneficiaries. The probe will be viewed as Beijing’s counter to similar investigations by the EU, which will be imposing tariffs on electric car imports from July onwards.

• According to Bloomberg also, Brazil is reaping the benefits of a US biofuel boom, undercutting American farmers by flooding the market with a little-known commodity that can be used to make renewable fuels. American purchases of Brazilian cattle tallow, a form of waste fat, climbed 4.8x YoY in 4M2024. Renewable diesel made from waste fat or used cooking oil has a lower carbon score than soyoil and therefore, gets higher tax credits in California. A new Federal tax credit will also start next year with tallow and used cooking oil being more lucrative as feedstocks compared to vegetable oils made with US soybeans.

• Reuters reported that Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) is expanding its palm oil refining business in Indonesia, which will include the construction of a new glycerine plant and higher production of biodiesel. The glycerine refining plant in Lampung will have an annual production capacity of 55,000 tonnes, primarily serving manufacturers of food, pharmaceuticals and personal care products.

• Asia News Network reported that Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has proposed a special consumption tax on sugary beverages. The proposal of adding sugary drinks to the list of items to be imposed with a special consumption tax had 74 unanimous opinions in favour and 26 other opinions. The MoF said that there had been 100 written comments on the draft law from 16 ministries, 5 government agencies, 49 localities, 3 international organisations, an embassy, 2 international NGOs and 25 associations/businesses as of 11 April. An industry expert said that globally, it has been estimated that increasing taxes on sugary drinks by 50% would reduce deaths by 2.2mil within 50 years.

• Financial Times reported that Pakistan is selling record amounts of rice in the global markets as it profits from trade restrictions introduced last year by India. According to official statistics, rice exports from Pakistan surged to almost 5.6mil in the 11 months ending May 2024, up 60% YoY. An industry expert said that many price-sensitive destinations in Africa turned to Pakistan to fulfil demand.

Source: AmInvest Research - 24 Jun 2024