China state-owned agribusiness COFCO International has partnered with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to improve soya sustainability, World Grain reported on 31 July.

Indonesian-state owned energy company PT Pertamina is preparing to test its 3% palm oil-based jet fuel by the end of the year as part of its plan to increase palm oil fuel production in line with government policy, Reuters reported on 23 July.

The first cases of COVID-19 at port terminals in Argentina that ship soyabean meal and oil have been recorded, the MercoPress reported on 29 July.

Global agribusiness giant ADM and one other US exporter have partnered with the US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) to certify US soya for sustainability schemes in the EU, Biofuels Digest reported on 23 July.

A record amount of soyabeans was imported by China from Brazil in June according to the latest customs data, Reuters reported on 26 July.

Oilseed production in India is forecast to increase in the 2020-21 season, World Grain reported on 20 July from forecasts made by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The COVID-19 pandemic will cut EU bioethanol and biodiesel use by around 10% and 6% respectively according to a new United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report, Biofuels Digest reported on 23 July.

A US appeals court has ruled that seed and crop protection company Corteva can continue to sell an agricultural weedkiller that environmentalists said was harmful to plants and wildlife, Reuters reported on 22 July.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has given Indonesia the go ahead to form a panel on its complaint against the European Union (EU)’s revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED II), the Jakarta Post reported on 3 August.

Plans by Indonesia to implement its 40% biodiesel blending (B40) programme by July 2021 are back on target, Reuters reported the country’s coordinating minister for economic affairs Airlangga Hartarto as saying on 30 July.

A study stating that coconut production poses a threat to biodiversity five times greater than palm oil has set off a heated debate on social media, Science reported on 17 July.

Global seed company Nuseed has agreed to supply French vegetable oils and biofuels producer Saipol with its carinata feedstock, Nuseed announced on 22 July.

German chemical giant Bayer has lost an appeal challenging the outcome of the first case to go to trial in the USA over the company’s Roundup weedkiller, France 24 reported on 21 July.