The war situation in Ukraine will impact European supplies of sunflower oil, according to trade body FEDIOL, which represents the interests of the vegetable oil and protein meal industry in the European Union (EU).

French green technology firm Global Bioenergies is building a plant in France to produce renewable isobutene from plant resources, the company announced.

The Ukrainian government suspended commercial shipping from its ports due to Russian’s military invasion while many privately-owned grain storage and processing facilities in the country also shut down operations to ensure the safety of their employees, World Grain reported.

Austrian plant manufacturer BDI-BioEnergy International (BDI) has been commissioned to upgrade two German biodiesel plants for US biofuel producer Renewable Energy Group (REG), the companies announced on 17 February.

Speciality chemicals firm LANXESS has announced a partnership with Matrìca - a joint venture between Eni’s chemical company Versalis and bioplastics and biochemicals leader Novamont - to produce sustainable preservatives from vegetable oils.

The investment arm of German chemical and biotech giant BASF and Orbia Ventures are investing in Israeli biotech start-up FortePhest to develop technology to combat herbicide-resistant weeds and invasive plants.

Leading independent tank storage company Royal Vopak (Vopak) is building storage for a Shell biorefinery in the Netherlands, Tank Storage magazine wrote.

Japanese chemical manufacturing company Kaneka Corporation (Kaneka) has announced it is expanding its production of biodegradable polymer in Japan with a new plant.

Crushing plants in China have shut down or are planning to suspend operations due to a soyabean shortage, industry sources were reported as saying by AgriCensus.

Leading US energy infrastructure company Kinder Morgan (KMI) has announced it is set to build a new renewable diesel hub in Southern California.

US food technology company Benson Hill has launched a range of non-genetically-modified (non-GMO) soya ingredients, the company announced on 10 February.

China’s largest food processor and manufacturer COFCO has partnered with state-owned grain company Sinograin to establish two joint ventures in grain storage and oilseed crushing and processing, according to a release issued by the nation’s top asset regulator reported by Global AgInvesting.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has disrupted the vegetable oil and grain trade with key ports shutting down and vessel movements blocked, according to a report by S&P Global Platts.