The International Grains Council (IGC) has lowered its global soyabean forecast, according to a report by Germany’s Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants (UFOP).

A sharp drop in international prices of vegetable oils has led the benchmark United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Price Index to fall for the sixth consecutive month, according to the FAO’s latest report.

The Indonesian government is planning to extend a palm oil export tax waiver until the end of the year, Reuters reported the country’s chief economic minister as saying.

Danish rendering company Haarslev has entered a marketing and investment alliance with US renewable fuel firm Grön Fuels, a subsidiary of Fidelis New Energy, PR Newswire reported.

Spanish multinational oil and gas company Cepsa has started producing biofuels from used cooking oil (UCO) at its La Rábida Energy Park facility in Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, the company announced.

Swiss food and drink giant Nestlé plans to stop sourcing palm oil from subsidiaries of leading Indonesian palm oil producer Astra Agro Lestari following environmental groups’ allegations of land and human rights abuses by the company, according to a Reuters report.

Increased demand for renewable diesel in the USA could bring the country’s soyabean exports to a halt by 2030, according to CoBank research reported by The Western Producer.

A new definition of ‘healthy’ claims made on food packages is being considered by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a bid to help improve diet and reduce chronic disease.

An investigation by the Associated Press and television series Frontline has found that Russia used a smuggling operation to steal Ukrainian grain worth at least US$530M and used the cash to fund its war efforts, World Grain reported.

Global oil giant Shell has announced plans to re-purpose its Gulf Coast refinery in Louisiana, USA, to produce hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the Houston Chronicle wrote.

German chemical giant BASF is planning to form a joint venture with South Korean chemical company Hannong Chemicals to produce non-ionic surfactants in Asia Pacific.

German chemical and biotech giant BASF has launched a new dehydration catalyst to process renewable feedstocks, the company announced.

Global agribusiness giant Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has announced the acquisition of leading Australian grain handling business Emerald Grain from Long River Farms.