Chinese biodiesel producers are shifting their focus to the domestic sector following the introduction of anti-dumping duties by the European Union (EU), according to a Biodiesel Digest report quoting from local media source Big Wind.
The EU was set to impose anti-dumping duties of 12.8% to 36.4% on Chinese biodiesel exports in August, the 5 September report said.
The duties would affect almost 90% of China’s biodiesel exports, which totalled 1.8M tonnes last year, and would impact trade with the EU, which had relied on China for 60% of its biodiesel imports, Biodiesel Digest wrote.
The new tariffs would affect over 40 companies including leading producers Zhejiang Jiaao, Henan Junheng and Longyan Zhuoyue Group in an export business worth US$2.3bn last year, according to biofuel executives and analysts quoted in a Reuters report on 19 August.
To address this, Chinese authorities and industry leaders met in Beijing to ways to boost domestic biodiesel use consumption, particularly in transportation and shipping sectors, Biofuels Digest wrote.
Efforts were underway to expand biodiesel usage in vehicles and marine applications, with Shanghai leading by building a full biodiesel supply chain, the report said.
However, other regions still lag in adoption and although the government has initiated pilot projects in 19 cities, support and infrastructure improvements are needed to scale up domestic use, according to industry experts.
Meanwhile, Chinese biodiesel producers are seeking new outlets in Asia for their exports following the EU’s introduction of anti-dumping tariffs, according to biofuel executives and analysts quoted in the Reuters report.
According to biofuel executives quoted by Reuters, some larger producers are looking at the marine fuel market in Singapore – the world’s top marine fuel hub – in a bid to offset declining biodiesel exports to the EU.
Amid investigations into allegedly fraudulent biofuel imports, exports to the bloc had fallen sharply since mid-2023, Chinese customs data showed.
Volumes in the first six months of this year dropped by 51% from a year earlier to 567,440 tonnes.
June shipments dropped to just over 50,000 tonnes, the lowest since mid-2019, according to customs data.
At their peak, exports to the EU reached a record 1.8M tonnes in 2023, representing 90% of all Chinese biodiesel exports that year.
