Spanish multinational oil and gas company Cepsa has formed a joint venture with Bio-Oils to produce biofuels at a new US$1.07bn (€1bn) plant in Huelva, Spain.

Oilseed production in India in the 2023/24 marketing year (October-September) is forecast to remain flat at 41.5M tonnes – almost unchanged from the previous year, according to a report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Leading Canadian agribusiness Richardson International is set to invest US$220M in its Wesson cooking oil facility in Memphis, Tennessee.

The global soyabean trade in the 2022/23 marketing year is forecast to be stronger than last year mainly due to record Brazil production and strong global demand, according to a report by the United States of Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Oilseed planted area and production in South Africa are set to reach historic highs in the 2023/24 marketing year, according to a report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Speciality chemical company Evonik is set to increase its production of activated nickel powder catalysts by 25%.

The European Union (EU) is reportedly preparing emergency curbs on Ukrainian food products after several member states bordering Ukraine introduced their own import bans in response to farmers’ claims that an influx of cheaper Ukraine grain and other agricultural products was causing prices to drop, VOA News wrote on 21 April.

Finnish renewable fuels producer Neste is planning to start commercial production at its expanded complex in Singapore next month following trial runs, Reuters quoted a senior company executive as saying.

Turkish olive oil exports are expected to increase to 134,000 tonnes – more than triple the five-year average – according to preliminary forecasts by the International Olive Oil Council (IOC) reported by Olive Oil Times.

The move underlined the company’s commitment to Ukraine and strengthened its crop science business in the country, Bayer said on 5 April.

International food commodity prices dropped for the 12^th consecutive month in March driven by lower prices for cereals and vegetable oils, the United Nations’ (UN) Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) reported.

The Argentine government has confirmed that its re-introduction of the preferential exchange rate policy for agricultural exports – known as the “agri or soya dollar” – would include soyabean products and sunflowerseeds, AgriCensus reported on 10 April.

A research team in Malaysia is investigating the use of de-oiled bleaching earth (DOBE) in soil stabilisation and concrete production, the New Straits Times reported.