Indonesia to revoke palm export ban from 23 May
Jakarta will allow exports of palm oil from 23 May, according to an announcement from Indonesia's president Joko Widodo on 19 May.
Whether exports of waste-based biofuel feedstocks used cooking oil and affected palm oil mill effluent HS codes will also be allowed to resume from Monday was not immediately clear.
The palm oil export ban will be lifted, despite Indonesian bulk cooking oil prices not having dropped below 14,000 rupiah/litre ($1/l) as intended, to alleviate pressure on the country's 17mn palm industry workers as domestic oil supply had already exceeded demand, Widodo said.
The government has been under pressure from palm oil lobby groups within the country to reverse the ban since it was implemented on 28 April, because of concerns surrounding domestic palm oil storage capacity limits, export revenue losses, and the impacts of currency deflation.
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Brazil hydroelectric dam bursts under record rains
Brazil hydroelectric dam bursts under record rains
Sao Paulo, 3 May (Argus) — Brazilian power generation company Companhia Energetica Rio das Antas (Ceran) found a partial rupture in its 100MW 14 de Julho hydroelectric plant following record precipitation in Rio Grande do Sul state. Flooding from the record rains has left 37 dead and forced more than 23,000 people out of their homes, causing widespread damage across the state, including washed out bridges and roads across several cities. Ceron reported that the dam of the hydroelectric plant on the Antas River suffered a rupture under the heavy rains and the company implemented an emergency evacuation plan on 1 May. Ceron's 130MW Monte Claro and 130MW Castro Alves plants are under intense monitoring, the company said in a statement. Rio Grande do Sul state governor Eduardo Leite declared a state of emergency and the federal government promised to release funding for emergency disaster relief. Leite said the flooding will likely go down as the worst environmental disaster in the state's history. Brazil's southernmost state along the border with Argentina has been punished by record precipitation over the past year owing to the effects of the strong El Nino weather phenomenon, according to Rio Grande do Sul-based weather forecaster MetSul Meteorologia. Brazilian power company CPFL Energia controls Ceran with a 65pc equity stake. Energy company CEEE-GT, which is owned by steel manufacturer CSN, owns another 30pc, and Norway's Statkraft owns the remaining 5pc. The state had declared a state of emergency as recently as September 2023 because of unusually heavy rains that resulted in the death of more than 30 people. Weather forecasters expect El Nino conditions to abate in the coming months over the eastern Pacific. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Dutch FincoEnergies supplies B100 biodiesel to HAL
Dutch FincoEnergies supplies B100 biodiesel to HAL
London, 3 May (Argus) — Dutch supplier FincoEnergies has supplied shipowner Holland America Line (HAL)with B100 marine biodiesel at the port of Rotterdam for a pilot test. This follows a collaboration between HAL, FincoEnergies' subsidiary GoodFuels, and engine manufacturer Wartsila to trial blends of B30 and B100 marine biodiesel . HAL's vessel the Rotterdam bunkered with B100 on 27 April before embarking on a journey through the Norwegian heritage fjords to test the use of the biofuel. The vessel will utilise one of its four engines to combust B100, which will reportedly cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 86pc on a well-to-wake basis compared with conventional fossil fuel marine gasoil (MGO), according to GoodFuels. There is no engine or fuel structure modification required for the combustion of B100, confirmed HAL. The B100 marine biodiesel blend comprised of sustainable feedstock such as waste fats and oils. The firms did not disclose how much B100 was supplied, or whether this is the beginning of a longer-term supply agreement. Argus assessed the price of B100 advanced fatty acid methyl ester (Fame) 0°C cold filter plugging point dob ARA — a calculated price which includes a deduction of the value of Dutch HBE-G renewable fuel tickets — at an average of $1,177.32/t in April. This is a premium of $410.20/t to MGO dob ARA prices for the same month, which narrows to $321.68/t with the inclusion of EU emissions trading system (ETS) costs for the same time period. By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US biofuel groups challenge EU SAF regulation
US biofuel groups challenge EU SAF regulation
London, 3 May (Argus) — US biofuel groups Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and US Grains Council and ethanol-to-jet producer LanzaJet have joined European renewable ethanol producers in their challenge to the ReFuelEU aviation regulation. The legal challenge, launched by ePure and Pannonia Bio in February, demands an annulment of the sections that exclude crop-based biofuels from the definition of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The regulation allows for SAF produced from biofuels, referring to point 33 in Article 2 of the bloc's recast Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) which includes "liquid fuel for transport produced from biomass". But it excludes biofuels produced from "food and feed crops". The US groups have filed an "application for leave to intervene" before the General Court of the EU, arguing that the regulation would "have a detrimental effect on the US ethanol industry". "The contested provisions give rise to a de facto ban on the supply of crop-based biofuels to the aviation sector in the EU" the associations said. Earlier this year ePure also challenged the bloc's FuelEU maritime regulation, which aims to boost the use of green bunker fuels, for excluding food and feed crop-based fuels from its certification process. By Evelina Lungu Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Canada rail strike to affect grains, industry says
Canada rail strike to affect grains, industry says
London, 3 May (Argus) — Strike action by workers at Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City could have significant repercussions for the country's grains market, according to industry body the Grain Growers of Canada (GGC). Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference authorised a strike on 1 May. Industrial action at the two major Canadian railroad companies could begin as early as 22 May. The parties have now entered a mandatory period of mediation. The GGC has called for a resolution to be reached in this period that safeguards Canada's grains supply chain. Canadian grain trade operations are particularly dependant on rail logistics, with the vast majority of grain from producing regions transported to ports by rail — 94pc of all Canadian grain is transported by rail, according to the GGC. Disrupted logistics could limit grain storage capacity, which could result in less stock available for export and curb selling by farmers. This could cause importers to seek alternative grains origins. Members are "worried about the impact a strike would have [...] on Canada's reputation as a reliable supplier", the GGC said. "Consecutive supply chain disruptions have already strained our relationships with international buyers. Another stoppage could drive them to seek other markets, affecting us in the long term," GGC's second vice chair Brendan Phillips said. In the high-protein wheat market — one of Canada's major agricultural exports — buyers may turn to US-origin Hard Red Spring wheat as an alternative, traders in both regions told Argus . This could have a significant effect on the market. "In June 2023, Canada exported over 2.6mn t of grain, highlighting the potential economic loss of over $35mn for each day in June that a strike persists," the GGC said. That said, wheat exports accounted for around 1.7mn t of this volume, Argus -aggregated data show. Canada's wheat exports have increased significantly ahead of the long-term average pace in 2024, surpassing 2023 levels by 710,000t in the week to 28 April. Remaining stocks of the 2023-24 wheat crop are low, according to market participants, and with the winter wheat harvest not scheduled to begin until July, low stocks could shelter Canada's wheat market to some extent. By Megan Evans Canadian wheat (excl. durum) exports mn t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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