EU biofuels feedstock imports fell in Nov: Eurostat

Imports of all major biofuels feedstocks to the EU dropped in November, with palm oil taking the biggest hit, according to preliminary Eurostat data.

Palm oil imports dropped by around 43pc on the month and nearly halved year on year, to 273,000t from 477,000t in October and 528,200t in November 2021.

Italy and Spain were the biggest importers but data for the Netherlands — a consistently high importer — were not updated for the month. In November 2021 the Netherlands imported 140,400t, but arrivals to the country and the important Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) ports dwindled throughput 2022 ahead of palm oil limits in the biofuel sectors of some European countries, like Germany, starting this month.

Imports to the UK fell on the month and the year by 45pc and 33pc, respectively.

Indonesia and Malaysia are still the EU's biggest suppliers.

Soybean oil (SBO) imports to the bloc more than halved on the month to 33,000t in November, although this was up by around 8pc from November 2021. Poland was the main importer, taking 14,800t — or 45pc — of total imports to the EU, nearly all of which came from Ukraine.

Used cooking oil (UCO) imports also fell, to around 110,600t in November from 197,100t in October and 179,300t in November 2021. Spain, Germany and Belgium took the bulk at 52pc, 9pc and 7pc, respectively. China supplied 66pc of Spain's imports, with the rest coming from Indonesia, Malaysia and around 6pc from the UK.

By Niamh Burns

EU palm oil, SBO and UCO imports November 2022 v 2021 tonnes