Proposed cap reduction on biofuels from cultivated biomass threatens feed protein supply

The decline in rapeseed meal exports has prompted the Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen e.V. (UFOP) to strongly oppose the proposed reduction of the cap on biofuels from cultivated biomass as outlined in the Federal Ministry for the Environment's draft bill.
The legislation is intended to implement the revised Renewable Energy Directive (Red III) at the national level and is under enormous time pressure, because Germany has already allowed the directive's implementation deadline to lapse.
The association has once again emphasised that the biodiesel market is by far the most important outlet for German and European rapeseed producers, as well as for German rapeseed mills, which have a combined processing capacity of approximately 10 million tonnes of seed.
The production of biofuels and the availability of domestic rapeseed meal are mutually dependent.
The UFOP has repeatedly pointed out this relationship as a prime example of an integrated bioeconomy.
The association has therefore called on the German Minister of Agriculture Alois Rainer to push for raising the cap to 5.3% during the ongoing interdepartmental coordination on the greenhouse gas quota legislation.
The increase would help compensate for the decline in overall energy demand in the transport sector resulting from the re-introduction of tax incentives for electromobility.
The association has also emphasised that biofuels make a significant contribution towards climate change mitigation - without placing a burden on the federal budget, since they are subject to full taxation.
According to data from the German Federal Statistical Office, Germany exported just over 1.4 million tonnes of rapeseed meal from July 2024 to April 2025. This was down 9% on the same period a year earlier.
Nearly all of this volume (around 1.3 tonnes) was delivered to EU member states. The largest share, 589,000 tonnes, went to the Netherlands, representing a decrease of almost 17% compared to the same period the previous year. Rapeseed meal deliveries to Sweden dropped 2%.
In contrast, exports to Denmark, Finland and France showed a positive trend. Denmark, Germany's second largest trading partner for rapeseed meal, ramped up its imports 2% to 184,000 tonnes.
Exports to France saw a remarkable rise. Due to a smaller domestic harvest, France strongly relied on imports, which climbed around 70% year-on-year to nearly 99,000 tonnes. Outside the EU, Switzerland remained the most important export destination, followed by the UK.