EU tariffs force China to seek new biodiesel markets

China is looking to win new markets for biodiesel and other biofuel products as its biggest buyer by far, the EU, imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese imports on Friday, analysts and executives said. Reuters.

The European Commission opened an investigation into biodiesel products originating in China in December 2023.

As part of the anti-dumping investigation, the EU decided last month to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) and FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) on August 16, 2024. The import duties range from 12.8% to 36.4%.

The European Commission’s investigation followed a complaint from the European Biodiesel Board (EBB), representing European biodiesel producers (HVO & FAME).

Commenting on the EU’s decision to impose provisional anti-dumping duties, EBB Chairman Dickon Posnett said:

“Our European businesses have suffered for too long under the pressure of unfairly priced Chinese imports and we are very happy to see the European Commission taking action. As EBB, we remain committed to defending the interests of the biodiesel industry and restoring a fair trading environment.”

Hit by EU tariffs, major Chinese biofuel producers are looking to tap the biofuel bunkering market in Asia, executives told Reuters. Chinese firms are looking to sell more biofuels to the shipping industry in China and Singapore, the world’s biggest marine fuel hub.

Chinese manufacturers have already seen their exports to the EU plummet in recent months after the EU opened its investigation into anti-dumping practices.

China’s biodiesel exports to the EU hit a record 1.8 million tonnes last year, according to data compiled by Reuters. The bloc took a massive 90% share of all China’s biodiesel exports.

But this year, Chinese exports to the EU fell after the investigation was launched in December 2023. China’s biodiesel exports to the EU fell 51% year-on-year to 567,440 tonnes in the first half of 2024, according to Chinese customs data quoted by Reuters.

By Josh Owens for Oilprice.com

More top reads from Oilprice.com