• Bloomberg reported that the European Union is cracking down on Chinese biodiesel imports after investigating complaints that a flood of unfairly priced renewable fuel is undercutting producers in the bloc. The European Biodiesel Board (EBB) said that the European Commission (EU) will be imposing provisional anti-dumping duties, ranging from 12.8% to 36.4% on Chinese imports of biofuels in four weeks. The EBB added that it is gravely concerned that the EU did not include Chinese sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from the anti- dumping measures. The group will be addressing the matter with regulators as a top priority.

• Bloomberg quoted Malaysia’s Plantation and Commodities Minister, Johari Abdul Ghani as saying that Malaysia’s palm oil output in 2024E will be “almost similar” to last year’s production. He added that he is bullish on palm because of its many applications. He also said that Malaysian companies will be interested in investing in oil palm plantations in India if land is available.

• Reuters reported that China is facing an oversupply of soybeans as record high purchases boost stockpiles at a time when animal feed demand remains subdued with prices of products such as soybean oil and soymeal set to sink even lower. The soybean surplus threatens to curb China’s appetite for imports in the September-December period, which is the peak marketing season for US soybeans. Slower economic growth in China is denting meat demand. Hog breeders are trimming sow herd sizes in line with a government directive to curb overcapacity and delaying slaughter to sell at heavier weights. Soybean crushing margins, in negative territory since June, plunged further this month. Oilseed processors in Rizhao are losing more than 600 Yuan per tonne, which is the biggest drop since February.

• Biofuels International cited the US Energy Information Administration as saying that production of SAF in the USA could increase from 2,000 barrels per day to nearly 30,000 barrels per day in 2024F if all of the announced capacity additions come true. Developers expect Phillips 66’s Rodeo Renewed project to produce up to 10,000 barrels per day of SAF beginning of this summer and Diamond Green Diesel’s Port Arthur SAF project to produce 15,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. Investments in SAF have increased due to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard, federal tax credits and state programmes and tax credits.

• The Star quoted stakeholders as saying that there is room to expand sugar tax in Malaysia to cover more items. In addition to reducing sugar consumption, the revenue collected from the tax can be channelled back into healthcare. An industry expert said that the sugar tax can be expanded to other items such as canned food containing sugar syrups, sweets, chocolates, sports drinks and soft drinks.

Source: AmInvest Research - 29 Jul 2024