German chemical company Evonik will increase its production capacity for the biodiesel catalyst, sodium methylate, at its Rosario, Santa Fe facility in Argentina from 60,000 to 90,000 tonnes.

BASF Nutrition & Health is launching an omega-3 fatty acid product in Switzerland to help patients manage Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), its first market in continental Europe for the product.

Argentina has ramped up export taxes on soyabeans, grains and their derivatives on 14 December to raise revenue needed to tackle a mountain of looming sovereign debt, Reuters reports.

Finnish renewable fuel and chemicals firm Neste will be collecting Christmas ham fat waste to produce its renewable diesel for the fourth year in a row as part of its annual Kinkkutemppu (Ham Trick) campaign.

British multinational oil and gas company BP and US agribusiness giant Bunge completed the formation of their joint venture on 2 December that combines their bioenergy and sugarcane ethanol businesses in Brazil.

US President Donald Trump has proposed tariffs of up to US$2.4bn worth of French imports including butter, cheese and sparkling wine in retaliation for France’s tax on US tech companies including Google, Amazon and Facebook.

China and the USA announced on 13 December that they had reached a preliminary trade deal including some tariff relief, increased agricultural purchases and structural change to intellectual property and technology issues.

The EU will impose five-year tariffs on Indonesian biodiesel ranging from 8-18% to counter subsidies given to producers in the country, Bloomberg reports.

China’s largest food processor and manufacturer, COFCO, plans to privatise its agricultural subsidiary, China Agri-Industries Holdings (CAIH), in a deal worth up to US$1.2bn, Reuters reported on 28 November.

Germany pharmaceutical giant Bayer has criticised Mexico for stopping imports of glyphosate – the active ingredient in its herbicide Roundup – warning that the country’s farmers will face a major disruption in fighting weeds.

The European Commission (EC) adopted private storage aid for virgin olive oils on 11 November to prop up prices hit by an oversupply of oil.

The USA has asked Thailand to postpone its forthcoming ban on the weedkiller, glyphosate, saying it could impact its exports of soyabeans and other crops to the country.

Weak crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel prices led to a 64% fall in net earnings for Malaysia’s Sime Darby Plantation group for the six months ending 30 June.