German biodiesel exports surge

Germany shipped around 2.9 million tonnes of biodiesel abroad last year - the largest quantity ever.
Imports amounted to 1.6 million tonnes, falling 6.2% short of the previous year's volume. The figure does not include imports of HVO, as this is exclusively produced outside of Germany.
In 2022, HVO imports totalled approximately 0.48 million tonnes.
The Netherlands, with Rotterdam being the most important hub for world trade in biofuels, remained by far the most important trading partner for biodiesel.
In 2023, exports rose 3.6% year-on-year to approximately 1.2 million tonnes. Trade to the US and Poland also increased.
Exports to the US saw a 55% climb to 444,100 tonnes, making the US the second most important destination. By contrast, deliveries to Belgium plummeted around 40% to 381,800 tonnes. Total German biodiesel exports reached a new record level at 2.9 million tonnes, with output amounting to approximately 3.9 million tonnes.
According to investigations conducted by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft, biodiesel imports to Germany in the year 2023 had a volume of 1.6 million tonnes, which was down 6.2% on 2022.
The largest tonnages came from the Netherlands, Belgium, Malaysia, and Austria. The decline in imports from Belgium was particularly noticeable.
At 295,500 tonnes, the volume shipped to the German market was just less than 23% down on the previous year. By contrast, imports from Malaysia went up around 6.6%.
Biodiesel imports of several 100,000 tonnes from China, which imports are suspected of being fraudulent, were obviously imported via Rotterdam, because China is not listed in the import statistics.
According to the Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen (UFOP), the German GHG quota policy and competition for GHG efficiency are the key drivers of this strong trade in the commodity.
This is a desired effect of the resources and environmental policies, and it is confirmed by the Evaluation and Progress Report by the German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE). In 2022, biodiesel (including HVO) from waste oils and fats, at approximately 1.57 million tonnes, accounted for approximately 60% of total consumption of circa 2.54 million tonnes. The association assumes that consumption in 2023 amounted to 2.62 million tonnes, with a similar share of waste-based biofuels (biodiesel and HVO).