Nov/Dec 2016  Vol 32 No 8

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OILSEEDS
Sustainable soya

INSPECTION
& TESTING
Setting a standard

TRANSPORT
Biofuel potential for
global shipping
Cover Nov/Dec.indd 1 26/10/2016 11:58
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OFI November-December IBC_desmet.indd 1 26/10/2016 14:34

 THE B USI NE SS MAG AZ IN E FOR TH E OILS AN D FATS IN D UST RY

CONTENTS

IMAGE: ALFFOTO/DREAMSTIME.COM
VOL. 32 NO. 8 NOV/DEC 2016

EDITORIAL:

Editor: Serena Lim

Tel: +44 (0)1737 855066
E-mail: serenalim@quartzltd.com

Editorial Assistant: Rose Hales

Tel: +44 (0)1737 855157
E-mail: rosehales@quartzltd.com

SALES: FEATURES
Sales Manager: Mark Winthrop-Wallace
Tel: +44 (0)1737 855 114 TRANSPORT, SHIPPING & LOGISTICS BRAZIL HAS BEEN ACCUSED IN THE PAST OF ALLOWING SOYA-
E-mail: markww@quartzltd.com BEAN PRODUCTION TO LEAD TO THE DEFORESTATION OF THE
AMAZON RAINFOREST, BUT VARIOUS LAWS, PROGRAMMES AND
Sales Consultant: Anita Revis
Tel: +44 (0)1737 855068 16 Biofuel potential for PARTNERSHIPS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED, WHICH ARE MAKING
SOYA MORE SUSTAINABLE P20
E-mail: anitarevis@quartzltd.com
global shipping
Chinese Sales Executive: Erik Heath
Tel: +44 (0)1737 855108
E-mail: erikheath@quartzltd.com
OILSEEDS
PRODUCTION:

Production Editor: Carol Baird 20 Sustainable soya

E-mail: carolbaird@quartzltd.com
NEWS & EVENTS
CORPORATE: BIOFUELS
Managing Director: Steve Diprose 2 Comment
Tel: +44 (0)1737 855164
E-mail: stevediprose@quartzltd.com 24 Thailand aims for fuel Deal or no deal?
SUBSCRIPTIONS: Elizabeth Barford self-reliance News
Tel: +44 (0)1737 855028 2
E-mail: subscriptions@quartzltd.com SHOW PREVIEW Greenpeace targets
Address: Subscriptions, Quartz House, 20 Clarendon
Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QX, UK IOI Group with new
Annual Subscription: UK £149, Overseas £173. 28 OFI India 2017 comes report and blockade
Two years: UK £268, Overseas £311. Single copy £37
to Mumbai Biofuels News
© 2016 Quartz Business Media 6
ISSN 0267-8853
Chemoil to pay US$27M
INSPECTION & TESTING
Website:
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fine for renewable fuel
violations
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A member of FOSFA 8 Biotech News

EC sets new date to
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Contents.indd 1 01/11/2016 09:08

 NEWS

COMMENT Greenpeace targets

Deal or no deal? IOI Group with new
I report and blockade
t’s been about two months since German
chemicals giant Bayer announced its
US$66bn purchase of Monsanto on
14 September in the world’s biggest cash
acquisition on record (see Biotech News, OFI
September/October 2016).
M alaysia’s IOI Group issued
a sustainability progress
update on 30 September following
of its existing policy – zero
deforestation, zero planting on
peat, zero burning and a focus on
Since then, a range of consumer and Greenpeace’s blockade of its palm socio-economic well-being – more
farmer groups have weighed in with oil refinery in Rotterdam harbour robust and detailed.
opinions on the deal, which would create three days earlier, which marked “We also require all our
the world’s largest agro-industrial company, the launch of a damning report suppliers to adhere to our
commanding more than a quarter of the produced by the environmental policies.”
global market for seeds and pesticides. group on IOI. It said it planned to achieve full
In terms of winning public approval, it is difficult to say which The Greenpeace report, ‘A traceability for 100% of its palm
company has the worst PR image. deadly trade-off’, accused IOI oil supplies to its mills by the end
Bayer was part of IG Farben during World War II, which collaborated of failing to adhere to its own of this year.
with Nazis in scientific experiments, used slave labour from sustainability policies, or ensuring In an earlier statement on
concentration camps, and held a large investment in a company which that its third-party suppliers had the day of the blockade, IOI
produced Zyclon B to gas prisoners during the Holocaust. stopped clearing rainforests and said that monitoring third party
Monsanto – the company everyone loves to hate – used to produce peatlands. suppliers and using the threat of
toxic chemicals such as now-banned polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) “In 2015, IOI traded and/or commercial sanction could only
and the Agent Orange herbicide used in Vietnam, and sells GM seeds processed 1,527,696 tonnes be done if there “is an industry-
which consumers have linked with ‘Frankenstein foods’. of palm oil and palm oil-derived wide approach to tackling these
Reputations aside, it is the wider food and agriculture picture that is products but only 38% of IOI complex issues”.
the main issue the merger throws up. Loders Croklaan’s volumes came “We therefore today call for
Six companies currently control the global marketplace for from IOI’s own mills in Indonesia all our fellow industry players
pesticides and crop biotechnology – BASF, Bayer, Dow Chemical and Malaysia,” the Greenpeace to come together and reach
Company, DuPont, Monsanto and Syngenta. The Big 6 could become report said. “The company states agreement on solutions that
the Big 3 if all three recent merger proposals are approved – the BASF- that the majority of the 800 mills will lead to a truly sustainable
Monsanto deal; the US$130bn Dow and DuPont merger; and China in the supply base of IOI Loders supply of one of the world’s most
National Chemical Corp’s US$43bn purchase of Syngenta. Croklaan are indirectly sourced, commonly used commodities.”
Bayer and Monsanto say their merger would increase the scale of meaning they are supplied by third In the blockade on
R&D needed to feed the world. parties sourced through other 27 September, Greenpeace
palm oil traders (including Golden moored its ship to the dock of
Less choice and higher prices? Agri-Resources, Musim Mas and the IOI Loders Croklaan refinery,
Opponents say the mergers would reduce competition and R&D in Wilmar International).” preventing the unloading of palm
seeds and herbicides, lessen biodiversity and lead to higher prices. Greenpeace said its analysis oil from incoming tankers, while
US law firm, the Konkurrenz Group, says a Bayer-Monsanto company showed that the IOI Group activists blocked the path to IOI’s
will control nearly 70% of the cotton hectarage in the USA, with continued to buy palm oil from premises with logs.
Monsanto already possessing a 97% share for soyabean traits, a 75% third-party suppliers linked to IOI was suspended by the
share for corn traits and a 95% share for cotton traits. serious environmental destruction Roundtable on Sustainable Palm
The American Antitrust Institute of Food & Water Watch and the US and human rights abuses and Oil in April following a complaint
National Farmers Union have echoed this view, recently writing that there remained a systematic made by Aidenvironment against
further consolidation of the global agricultural biotech market would failure to identify and exclude non- three IOI subsidiaries but the
greatly diminish the ability of smaller biotech firms to compete, leading compliant suppliers. suspension was lifted on 8 August
to rising seed and pesticide prices, fewer choices for farmers and IOI said that it planned to (see News, OFI September/October
consumers and more GM foods on supermarket shelves. publish a detailed response to 2016).
“Our global agriculture system could end up depending on just a the points raised by Greenpeace IOI has some 152,000ha of oil
few companies to meet a high percentage of the world’s agricultural shortly. In its update, it said palm plantations in Malaysia, and
needs.” it was making the four planks 83,000ha in Indonesia.
Robert Lawrence, a founding director of the Centre for a Liveable
Future, says the USA has gone from having some 30-40 varieties of
soyabeans to one, accounting for nearly all of US soya production.
Should a new disease emerge, there is “a very real risk” it could wipe
Palm oil ambassador proposed
out a large part of the US crop, he says.
And does the world want to be increasingly dependent on a few
large corporations focused on a agricultural system which bundles
M alaysia and Indonesia – the world’s two largest palm oil producers –
plan to appoint an ‘Ambassador of Palm Oil’ to promote the product
in the international market, Malaysian news agency Bernama reported
together seed and pesticide/herbicide use? There are those who on 31 August.
believe that the GM crop boom is over, with farmers turning their backs Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Datuk Seri Mah
on more expensive GM seeds; evidence of falling yields; and rising Siew Keong, said palm oil producers were now facing non-tariff barriers
herbicide use due to weed resistance (see Comment, OFI May 2016). in major importing countries. “These include food products with ‘No
Diversity and choice are important and anti-trust regulators in the Palm Oil’ labels and proposals to impose high import taxes on palm oil
USA, EU and elsewhere will be deciding exactly how much choice and products. This is a form of discrimination to us,” he said.
diversity the agricultural biotech market needs. With three proposed Mah spoke after co-chairing the ministerial meeting of the Council
mergers on the table, the deals are not yet done.  of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC). The two countries agreed to
contribute US$5M each initially to operate the CPOPC secretariat.

2 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

Comment and News.indd 1 26/10/2016 14:48

 NEWS

Committee backs EU-wide limit on industrial trans fats

A n EU-wide limit for industrially-produced
trans fats in processed foods has been
backed by the European Parliament’s
Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Committee.
The committee adopted a resolution on
29 September backing the limit, saying that
lack of awareness among consumers regarding
the adverse health impact of trans fatty
acids (TFAs) made mandatory TFA labelling
an ineffective tool to reduce intake among
European citizens.
“We call on the European Commission (EC)
to propose as soon as possible mandatory
limits on industrial TFAs in order to reduce
their intake among all population groups,”
the resolution said. The resolution was due to
be considered for adoption by the European
Parliament at a plenary session later in
October, FoodNavigator said.
Natural trans fatty acids (TFAs) can be found
in the meat and milk products of ruminant
animals (cattle, sheep and goat).
Industrial or artificial TFAs can be found in
baked, fried and snack foods and are formed
when fats and oils are partially hydrogenated
to improve their taste, texture and shelf-life.
Industrial TFAs increase our risk of heart
disease by increasing the ‘bad’ low density
cholesterol in our blood, while also lowering the
‘good’ high density cholesterol.
In June 2015, the US Food and Drug
Administration said partially hydrogenated
oils – the main source of industrial trans fats
in processed foods – were no longer ‘generally
recognised as safe’ (GRAS) and gave food
manufacturers three years to remove all
artificial trans fats from their products (see
News, OFI July/August 2015).
And last October, major food producers
Mars, Kellogg’s, Nestlé and Mondel z signed an
open letter to the EC calling for the amount of
industrial TFAs to be limited to 2g per 100g of
fat across the EU. In Europe, several countries
including Austria, Denmark, Iceland, Hungary
and Norway have set limits of 2g per 100g of
fat or oil.
But artificial trans fat remain common in
Eastern Europe with a 2012 study showing
that Eastern Europeans could be consuming as
much as 30g per day, FoodNavigator said.

IN BRIEF
RSPO certifies Olam plantation and mill in Gabon
O lam International’s Awala oil International, said: “Currently, EUROPE: Archer Daniels Midland
PHOTO: RSPO

palm plantation and mill in
Gabon are the first in Africa to
be certified by the Roundtable on
Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the
company reported on 4 October.
The leading Singapore-
headquartered agribusiness
first ventured into upstream oil
palm plantations in Gabon in
2011 with a 60/40 respective
joint venture with the Republic
of Gabon
“The Awala plantation of
6,700ha has single-handedly
boosted Africa’s RSPO-certified
production hectares by 30% from
21,666 ha,” Olam said.
The other major development
for the Olam Palm Gabon (OPG)
joint venture is the Mouila
plantation which lies to the south
of Awala.
“In Mouila, OPG has already
planted 31,000ha in full
compliance with RSPO guidelines
and is progressing towards
certification of that area in 2017
as planned.”
Upon reaching full production
capacity by 2023, the two
plantations would deliver up to
22 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches
and 5.2 tonnes of oil per
hectare, the company said.
Ranveer Chauhan, managing
director and CEO of palm oil
and natural rubber at Olam
about 17% of the world’s supply
of palm oil is certified as
sustainable. However, customer
demand for sustainable palm
oil is rapidly increasing and the
RSPO is targeting 100% uptake
of certified oil in Europe alone
by 2020.
“Africa is the home of oil palm
and many think it does not have
the infrastructure or governance
to support high international
standards. This certification
shows what can be achieved for
any new or old palm plantation
development on the continent.”
Olam said the land for the
plantation ventures in Gabon
was acquired on leasehold from
the government and it had set
aside a total of 61,000ha for
biodiversity, as well as supplying
infrastructure and amenities to
surrounding communities such
as roads, lighting, water pumps
and schools.
(ADM) and Wilmar International
said on 23 September that they
had received all competition
approvals for Olenex – their
partnership set up in 2012 to
market oils and fats in Europe –
to become a full joint venture.
Under their plan announced
on 10 December, ADM will
transfer two sites – a speciality
oils and fats facility and an oil
palm refining plant in Hamburg,
Germany, to the new venture.
Wilmar will transfer over its
tropical oils processing plants in
Brake, Germany and Rotterdam,
the Netherlands (see News, OFI
January 2016).
The joint venture will integrate
raw materials sourcing,
processing, trading and sales
and marketing operations.
Refined oils and fats from
ADM’s other plants in the
Czech Republic, Germany, the
Netherlands, Poland and the UK
will be marketed by Olenex.

WORLD: Cargill has launched

Bunge partnering Oleo-Fats Inc in the Philippines
G lobal agribusiness giant Bunge has entered a
distribution agreement with Oleo-Fats Inc, which
will become Bunge’s exclusive commercial partner to
import, market, sell and distribute packaged softseed
oils into the Philippines, Bunge announced on 30
September.
Bunge Agribusiness Singapore will become Oleo-
Fat’s exclusive commercial partner to export, market,
sell and distribute coconut oil under its Farm Origin
brand into countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We’re delighted to have Oleo-Fats as our
distribution partner,” said Aaron Buettner, Bunge’s
global head of oils. “By leveraging Oleo-Fat’s
capabilities in the Philippines and its relationships
with customers, including quick service restaurant
chains, snack food manufacturers, biscuit and
confectionery manufacturers, industrial bakeries, and
the Lyveum brand of vegetable
oil, developed in Brazil by Cargill
hotels, restaurants and caterers, Bunge will be able
to fully participate in a growing destination market.
“We also look forward to being able to provide
Industrial Specialities, to target
the personal care market on a
global scale.
coconut oil supplied by Oleo-Fats as part of our Farm The brand is part of Cargill’s
Origin portfolio. This is a premium oil that fits well new ingredient category called
with our other offerings for retail and food service in Ultra Oils, in which it has
the Asia-Pacific region.” invested US$300,000 in product
Oleo-Fats is a wholly-owned subsidiary of D&L development, testing, initial
Industries, a Filipino company which manufactures production and minor changes
customised food ingredients, speciality raw materials to existing plant equipment in
for plastics and oleochemicals for personal and home Mairinque, São Paulo.
care use. Initial output would be 150
“Partnering with Bunge gives us an even broader tonnes/month with a goal
range of products to serve customers in the of producing 1,000 tonnes/
Philippines,” said Vincent Lao, managing director month to earn US$18M/year in
of Oleo-Fats. “We’re also seeking to grow by adding revenues, Cargill said.
coconut oil to Bunge’s Farm Origin brand.”

3 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

Comment and News.indd 2 01/11/2016 12:14

 NEWS

Korean corporation accused of deforesation

K orean-Indonesian corporation Korindo
has been accused of clearing more than
50,000ha of tropical lowland forests in
Indonesia’s Papua and North Maluku provinces
to grow palm oil and of using fire to clear land,
contributing to the country’s haze problems.
A new report by Aidenvironment released
in August said major palm oil producers,
Wilmar and Musim Mas, had already stopped
procuring from Korindo, which has operations
in logging, pulpwood and oil palm in Indonesia.
Aidenvironment said Korindo had eight
concessions totalling 160,000ha, seven of
them covering 149,000ha in Papua province,
where Korindo was the largest palm oil
company. It also helped Korean company
Daewoo with its 30,000ha plantation in Papua.
The NGO said Korindo began aggressive
clearing of tropical lowland forests for oil palm
plantations in 2013, clearing 30,000ha of
forests in the two provinces – 12,000ha of
which were primary forests – since that year.
In total, it had cleared 50,000ha of tropical
lowland forests in Papua and North Maluku.
Aidenvironment said Korindo had also
contributed significantly to Indonesia’s haze
disaster in 2015 and was the largest haze
contributor in Papua, with satellite imagery,
hotspot data and aerial photographs pointing
to the systematic use of fire during its land
clearing processes.
“As of June 2016, 75,000ha of valuable
forests remained in Korindo’s oil palm
concessions.”
Koh Gyeong Min, Korindo’s head of
sustainability, has denied that the firm has
been responsible for any illegal forest burning.
“We followed all of the Indonesian
regulations and acquired all the proper
licences from the government for all areas of
operation,” he said in the Guardian newspaper.
The report’s allegations came as southeast
Asia’s 2016 burning season was just
beginning, according to the Guardian.
Indonesia’s meteorology, climatology and
geophysics agency warned on 30 August that
fires in the western part of Riau province on
Sumatra island could blow towards Malaysia
and Singapore. Riau was one of several
provinces which had declared a state of
emergency over forest fires.

IN BRIEF
WORLD: In September, PepsiCo
released an update on its Palm
Oil Action Plan launched last
October, reporting that about
91% of its direct suppliers are
members of the Roundtable on
Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO),
accounting for some 96% of
its forecasted direct palm oil
volume.
PepsiCo also said it increased
its use of mass balance
physically certified palm oil in
2015 to 8% of its volume, as
compared to 5% in 2014.
“We are developing a plan
to significantly ramp up the
physically certified volume to
achieve our goal of 100% by
2020,” it said in its report.
PepsiCo said that as of July
2016, about 72% of the palm
oil it is forecasted to use for
the year had been traced to the
mill. “Over the rest of 2016 and
beyond, we will be working to
achieve 100% traceability.”
MENA: The United Nations Food
and Agriculture Organisation has
launched a technical cooperation
programme aimed to prevent the
spread of Xylella fastidiosa (Xf)
in North Africa and the Middle
East, Olive Oil Times reported on
15 September.
The project aimed to facilitate
early detection, diagnosis and
monitoring of Xf, and began
in response to requests from
countries including Algeria,
Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco,
Palestine and Tunisia, the report
said. It would work to improve
the technical capacity of local
institutions and farmers and
raise awareness on preventing
China agrees to canola imports Delays to soya
export tax cuts
C hina has agreed to import
Canadian canola through
to 2020 while both countries
conduct research to find a A rgentina’s president Mauricio
Macri has announced that
the country will not reduce
“science-based and stable
solution” to the presence of export taxes on soya this year
or in 2017, as previously stated,
foreign material (dockage) in the
imports. Reuters reported on 3 October.
Instead, it would reduce the tax by
China had planned to lower
the amount of dockage allowed Trade would continue under 0.5%/month from January 2018
to December 2019.
in Canadian canola imports from current terms while additional
2.5% to 1% as it was concerned research was conducted to Macri took office in December
last year and cut the export tax
that black-leg disease might be determine whether there was a
spread from Canadian canola legitimate link between the level on the country’s main cash crop,
soya, from 35% to 30% with
shipments to Chinese canola. of dockage – stems, leaves or
The tougher standards – due chaff that might be found in a further cuts planned for this year.
According to the report, the
to be imposed on 1 April but grain shipment – and the risk of
postponed until 1 September – disease transmission, the report tax would be reduced gradually
month by month to prevent
raised concerns that the 1% limit said.
would be physically impossible to “If we hadn’t been able to “speculation”, as there were
concerns that farmers would hold
achieve and extremely costly. come to an agreement, other
The new agreement was exporters would have gotten into off planting and harvesting until
the tax was reduced.
announced on 22 September that market and we would have
during a four-day Chinese visit to lost significant share,” said Patti Argentina is the world’s
third-largest soya producer and
Canada. CBC News said. Canada Miller, president of the Canola
was the world’s largest canola Council of Canada. exporter after the USA and Brazil.
It is forecast to produce 57M
exporter and over 40% of this The two sides had been
trade was exported to China, grappling over the issue since tonnes of soya in the 2016/17
worth some US$1.95bn in 2015. 2009, CBC News said. crop year starting in October,
10.7M tonnes for export.
Agrium acquisitions in USA and Canada approved
C anada’s Agrium Inc has received regulatory
approval to buy 18 Cargill AgHorizons retail
locations across the northern US corn belt and 16
close to our manufacturing facilities in Western
Canada, where we can optimise freight and handling;
and in the US corn belt, where we are under-
Andrukow Group Solutions sites across Western represented in a key growing region,” said Agrium’s
Canada, the company announced on 6 September. president and CEO, Chuck Magro.
Agrium is North America’s largest retail seller of However, Oilseed & Grain News said Canada’s
crop inputs such as seeds, fertilisers and pesticides. Competition Bureau had instructed Agrium to sell
The purchase of the 18 Cargill AgHorizons its own sites at Marwayne and St Paul, Alberta; and
outlets in the US states of Nebraska, South Dakota, Andrukow locations at Wainwright and Sedgewick,
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana – with Alberta, as it saw the deal as lessening competition
annual revenues of over US$150M – was announced in the sale of nitrogen fertilisers in certain markets in
in July (see OFI News, July/August 2016). Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The agreement to buy the 16 Andrukow retail sites Agrium is merging with Potash Corporation of
was announced on 6 September. Saskatchwan to create an agribusiness giant valued
“The locations will increase our retail presence at more than US$23bn.

4 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

Comment and News.indd 3 01/11/2016 12:14

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IN BRIEF
EUROPE: European renewable
ethanol association ePURE
released its annual statistics
report in September. The report
found that direct greenhouse
gas (GHG) savings associated
with European ethanol use
increased 8.5% in 2015
from 2014, Ethanol Producer
Magazine reported. Ethanol in
Europe led to a 64% GHG saving
compared to fossil fuels.
MEXICO: Monarca biojet fuel
project was planning to add
33,000ha of jatropha to its
plantations so that it could
supply US biofuel refineries
with low-cost seed oil as well
as produce biojet fuel for
Mexican aviation, it announced
in October. It hoped to ship more
than 50M gallons of seed oil to
the US for biofuel production.
FINLAND: Prime Minister
Juha Sipila has proposed that
Nordic countries should set a
joint biofuel target to increase
the proportion of bio-based
raw materials in fuel, Reuters
reported on 27 September.
Finland had a target of 20% of
transport fuel to be derived from
renewable sources by 2020,
rising to 40% by 2030. Other
Nordic countries had similar
goals but no legal requirements.
EU/ARGENTINA: The World
Trade Organization has made the
same decision as the European
Court and ruled in favour of
Argentina in the country’s
dispute with the EU over
biodiesel anti-dumping duties,
Biofuels Digest reported on 10
October. The decision was made
following an appeal from the EU.
NIGERIA: The country’s only
ethanol producer, Allied Atlantic
Distilleries Limited (AAD), has
said it will increase ethanol
production in the country from
the current 9M litres/year to
75M litres/year by 2020, News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported
on 15 September.
Managing diretor Rajavelu
Rajasekar said Nigeria was
currently importing around
260M litres/year of ethanol.
AAD produces ethanol from
locally-produced cassava.
It planned to set up ethanol
mills in Oyo, Osun and Kwara by
2020, to add to its current site
in Ogun State, NAN said.
Biofuel News.indd 1
BIOFUELS NEWS
Chemoil to pay US$27M fine
for renewable fuel violations
T he bunker fuel unit of Anglo-
Swiss commodity trading and
mining giant Glencore Plc has
in the lead-up to the settlement –
was more than US$71M.
RINs are credits created when
for blending in this country and
the number of RINs available to
meet the renewable fuel volume
agreed to pay a US$27M penalty a company produces or imports mandate. Ensuring exporters
and retire over 65M renewable renewable fuel. They can be comply with the regulations for
fuel credits to resolve alleged traded or sold to refiners and RIN retirement is critical to the
violations of the US biofuels fuel importers or exporters to proper functioning and integrity of
programme. help them comply with the US the RFS programme.”
The settlement was announced Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Reuters said the removal of
by the US Department of programme. RINS from the market was likely
Justice (DoJ) and Environmental “The RFS programme requires to stoke mounting worries over
Protection Agency (EPA) on exporters to retire RINs for tightening inventories of the
29 September, which alleged that renewable fuel like biodiesel, credits.
Chemoil Corp had exported at because the fuel exported is It said the RIN market had
least 48.5M gallons of biodiesel no longer available for blending been rife with fraud in previous
from the USA from 2011 to 2013 into the USA’s fossil fuel years and the US government had
but failed to retire more than 72M supply and, for that reason, settled a number of cases of past
Renewable Identification Number cannot be used to meet the fraud in recent months.
(RIN)s that were generated for the renewable fuel volume mandate In August, the US Renewable
exported fuel. established by Congress,” the Fuels Association also urged
The DoJ said the fine was the DoJ said. the Commodity Futures Trading
largest in the history of the EPA’s “If exporters fail to retire the Commission to investigate
fuel programme and the current appropriate number and type of possible manipulation of the US
market value of the credits – RINs associated with the exported market for RINs (see Biofuels
along with an additional 7.7M fuel, it artificially inflates the News, OFI September/October
RINS already retired by Chemoil volume of renewable fuel available 2016).
Petrobras to exit biofuels in bid to reduce debt
B razil’s state-run oil company Petrobras said on
21 October that is in talks to sell its stake in
sugar and ethanol producer Guarani SA to French
venture with Brazilian sugar and ethanol company
São Martinho; and a 40% stake in the Bambui mill
in São Paulo state, according to Reuters.
sugar group Tereos Internacional, reports the Wall It also owned three biodiesel plants in Minas
Street Journal (WSJ). Gerais, Bahia and Ceará states and had a 50%
Petrobras had previously announced on stake in local biodiesel producer BSBIOS, which
20 September that it was exiting the biofuels managed two large plants in the states of Paraná
sector to reduce its debts. and Rio Grande do Sul, Reuters added.
It has a 45.9% stake in Guarani and WSJ said According to a Biofuels Digest report on
it had hired Banco Itaú BBA to advise on the sale 10 October, Petrobras is closing its biodiesel plant
process. Guarani owns seven sugar mills with a in Quixadá, Ceará in November. The remaining
combined production capacity of 1.7M tonnes of two plants in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais; and
sugar and 900M litres/year of ethanol. Candeias, Bahia, are continuing operations.
Petrobras has a significant portfolio in biofuels Petrobras is planning to sell US$15.1bn of
in Brazil. As well as its stake in Guarani, it also assets by the end of this year, and US$19.5bn of
owns 49% of Boa Vista mill in Goiás state, a joint assets in 2017-18.
RSB reaccredited after EU court calls the system unreliable
T he EU’s Renewable Energy
Directive sustainability
programme – the Roundtable on
supervision of voluntary schemes”.
It concluded that the certification
scheme was therefore “not fully
the EC did not require schemes
to verify if biofuel production
carried risks such as conflict over
Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) – reliable”. land ownership, forced or child
was reaccredited by the European RBS’s director of marketing and labour, poor working conditions for
Commission (EC) in September for communications Helena Tavares farmers or danger to health and
demonstrating compliance with Kennedy commented on the safety.
sustainability criteria, Biodiesel report, saying, “There are some In response, Tavares Kennedy
Magazine reports. EU-approved certification systems told Biodiesel Magazine “the RBS
The RSB’s previous recognition that require bare minimum criteria standard provides assurance on all
was expiring and, in August, and therefore do not guarantee these important elements”.
the European Court of Auditors truly sustainable practices, so we She also said the RSB scheme
published a special report can see why they say there are was the only one to provide
that found “weaknesses in weaknesses”. dedicated principles on food
the Commission’s recognition Biodiesel Magazine said that in security and water, as well as a
procedure and in the subsequent particular, the report stated that concept for dealing with low ILUC.
6 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com
26/10/2016 14:49
 BIOFUELS NEWS

United Nations sets global airline emissions limits

T he United Nations (UN) agency, the
International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO), approved a landmark agreement to
slow the growth of emissions from commercial
flights on 6 October, Reuters reports.
The global carbon offsetting system would
be voluntary between 2021 to 2026 and
mandatory from 2027, and applies to states
with larger aviation industries. Under the
system, airlines would have to buy carbon
credits from particular environmental projects
to offset any growth in emissions. It would
apply to international passenger and cargo
flights and business jets generating more than
10,000 tonnes of emissions per year.
A small number of countries have objected
to the agreement, but the president of the
ICAO’s governing council said they would not
derail the plan.
Sixty-five countries accounting for more
than 80% of aviation activities had agreed to
participate in the first voluntary phase, which
surpassed the ICAO’s expectations, Reuters
reported.
Russia and India said they would not
participate in the voluntary phase, arguing it
was unfair for emerging countries. China said it
would join and Brazil voiced support although it
did not commit to joining in 2021.
Reuters said that according to ICAO figures,
the deal was estimated to cost airlines between
US$1.5bn and US$6.2bn in 2025, and no more
than 1.8% of industry revenues by 2035.
The International Air Transport Association
vice president Paul Steele acknowledged that
this was a cost for the industry but said “we
believe it’s a manageable cost”.
Talks were continuing on the technical
details, the report said, including the types of
offset credits the agreement would accept.
Some environmentalists said the agreement
would not meet its own goals and would only
require airlines to offset 75% of growth after
2021, or one-quarter of total international
traffic.

Shell offers US$26M for

Abengoa’s ethanol plant
50 2015

T he US arm of Royal Dutch Shell has offered

more than US$26M to buy the Kansas
cellulosic ethanol plant of troubled Spanish

Naturally bleached
renewable energy and ethanol producer
Abengoa SA, according to documents filed

vegetable oil, shaped by

on 12 October in the Kansas District US
Bankruptcy Court.
“This move is in line with Shell’s strategy
to develop biofuels” that use sustainable ONE ALL-ROUND
SOLUTION: TONSIL®.
feedstocks, Shell spokeswoman Natalie Mazey
said in an e-mailed statement.
Abegona – which began insolvency
proceedings in November 2015 – is selling THE GOLD STANDARD FOR EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE OIL, FAT AND
its non-core assets including all its first- BIOFUEL PURIFICATION: TONSIL® BY CLARIANT FUNCTIONAL MINERALS.
generation biofuel plants in to avoid becoming Powerful against undesired odor, flavor and impurities from crude oils and fats, Clariant’s TONSIL®
Spain’s largest ever bankruptcy. bleaching earths have now been in use for more than 100 years. To meet today’s growing global
It has already agreed to sell five US ethanol demand and ensure certified solutions for your scope of applications, we constantly carry out research
plants for US$355.5M, put up for auction on into new products as well as into the rapid and flexible optimization of TONSIL® qualities in Europe,
22 August. America and Asia. In many countries, TONSIL® has already become synonymous with activated
Reuters said Shell’s “stalking horse” bid bleaching earths, which we view as both a challenge and an obligation for the future.
served as an initial base offer in the auction WWW.FUNCTIONALMINERALS.CLARIANT.COM
process. If Abengoa received competing bids,
an auction would be held on 21 November for
the 25M gallons/year plant in Hugoton.

Russia plans to lift tax

T he Russian Minister of Agriculture,
Alexander Tkachev, has indicated that the
government plans to lift its current excise tax
on fuel ethanol by the end of the year, Ethanol
Producer Magazine reported on 15 September.
The existing tax is 102 rubles (US$1.62)/
litre, around 90% of the final cost of
production, the report said. This made local
TONSIL® bleaching
ethanol production unprofitable, which resulted earths set a standard
in low investment attractiveness – a major for the efficient and
obstacle for the Russian ethanol industry sustainable purification
Ethanol Producer Magazine said the and refinement of edible
oils, biofuel feedstocks
government had feared lifting the tax would and technical waxes.
result in the production of vodka under the
guise of bioethanol. In addition, development
of the ethanol industry had been prevented by
lobbying from domestic petroleum producers.
The government projects lifting the tax
would increase ethanol production to 670M
gallons/year. Planning and construction of up
to 19 new facilities has been supported by the
government and private investment.

7 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

3381_FM_Tonsil_128x185_en.indd 1 11.12.15 13:10

Biofuel News.indd 2 26/10/2016 14:49

 BIOTECH NEWS

IN BRIEF
WORLD: Monsanto has obtained
EC sets new date to complete
probe of Dow-DuPont merger
a license from the Broad
Institute of Harvard University
and the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology to use their
CRISPR gene-editing technology
for agricultural applications,
T he European Commission (EC) has set a new date
of 6 February to complete its investigation into the
proposed US$130bn merger of US chemical giants
announced on 11 December and would eventually
see the new entity split into three by the end of
2018, creating separate companies focused on
the Scientist reported on
Dow Chemical Co and DuPont Co, reported Reuters agriculture, specialty products and materials science.
27 September. However, it
on 3 October. Both companies supply GM seeds and crop
would not be able to use the
The probe was announced on 11 August to look protection products to the oils and fats industry.
technology to develop sterile or
into whether the merger would reduce competition DuPont Pioneer is a subsidiary of DuPont Co and
‘terminator’ seeds or to modify
in crop protection, seeds and certain chemicals (see a major producer of hybrid seeds for agriculture
tobacco for commercialisation.
Biotech News, OFI September/October 2016) but was including GM crops with insect and herbicide
DuPont Pioneer and Calyxt
halted a month later due to missing information. resistance. Dow AgroSciences is a wholly-owned
currently used CRISPR gene-
EC spokesman Ricardo Cardoso confirmed in subsidiary of Dow Chemical Co supplying seeds,
editing techniques in agriculture,
an email that the companies had now submitted biotech solutions and agricultural pesticides.
while Bayer had the licence for
important information requested by the EU The merger is one of three currently under
biomedical use, the report said.
competition enforcer, Reuters said. review. China National Chemical Corp announced a
Dow Chemical and DuPont said they remained US$43bn takeover of Swiss seed and pesticide giant
USA: Monsanto and Dow
confident of securing EU approval. Syngenta AG on 3 February, while German chemicals
AgroSciences, a subsidiary
“We remain focused on working with the EC toward leader Bayer AG announced its US$66bn purchase of
of Dow Chemical Company
closing the transaction by year-end 2016. In the the seeds giant Monsanto on 14 September.
announced on 3 October that
event that the Commission utilises the full allotted Syngenta said on 25 October that its acquisition
they had reached an agreement
time, closing would be expected to occur in the early was expected to be finalised in the first quarter
to use Dow’s Exzact genome
part of 2017, subject to satisfaction of customary of next year, having already received regulatory
editing technology to research
closing conditions, including receipt of all regulatory clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment
and develop new crop varieties
approvals,” the companies said in a statement. in the US (CFIUS) in August and 11 anti-trust
with improved traits across
The merger to create DowDuPont Inc was first approvals.
Monsanto’s product portfolio.

GERMANY: Chemical
giant Bayer AG is investing
approximately €16M in new
Jail for conspirator stealing corn seed secrets
capacity to research, develop
and produce biological crop
A Chinese national was sentenced to three years
in prison for conspiring to steal trade secrets
from DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto, the US
elsewhere in order to transport the seeds to DBN
in China. An investigation was launched by the
FBI when DuPont Pioneer security staff detected
protection products at its site in
Department of Justice (DoJ) reported on 5 October. suspicious activity.
Wismar. Biological control uses
Mo Hailong, a Chinese national who became a “Theft of trade secrets is a serious federal crime,
organisms to control pests and
lawful US permanent resident, was employed as as it harms victim companies that have invested
plant diseases.
the director of international business at the Beijing millions of dollars and years of work toward the
Bayer CropScience Biologics
Dabeinong Technology Group Company (DBN), a development of propriety technology,” said US
managing director Daniel Karsch
Chinese conglomerate with a corn seed subsidiary Attorney Kevin VanderSchel.
said the company had created
called Kings Nower Seed. As well as his prison sentence, Hailong was
ideal conditions in Wismar to
According to a plea agreement entered on 27 ordered to serve three years of supervised
ensure its scientists could work
January, Hailong admitted to participating in a long- release following imprisonment and ordered to
successfully in the fermentation
term conspiracy to steal trade secrets from the two pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a
and production of natural fungi
biotech companies. later date. He was also ordered to forfeit two farms
to produce biological products
The DoJ said Hailong took part in the theft in Iowa and Illinois that were bought and utilised
for integrated crop protection.
of parent corn seeds from fields in Iowa and during the course of the conspiracy.

Syngenta completes expansions Chinese push for GM soyabeans

S wiss pesticide and seeds giant
Syngenta AG announced the
completion of capacity expansion
projects at key sites in Brazil and
Switzerland on 4 October.
It said it had invested a total
of US$240M in a new fungicide
plant in Paulínia, São Paulo,
and an expanded corn seed
factory in Formosa, Goiás, as
well as expanding its herbicide
manufacturing facility in Kaisten,
Switzerland.
The plant in Paulínia produced
Syngenta’s Elatus fungicide, sales
of which exceeded US$400M
in 2015 in Latin America, the
company said. Elatus was used
against soyabean rust.
“In Formosa, the installations
at Syngenta’s corn seed plant
have been quadrupled and the
site will raise its production
capacity from 400,000 to 1.6M
bags/year of corn.”
In Kaisten, investment had
enabled production capacity
expansion for S-Metolachlor, a
herbicide used in many brands to
control weeds in several crops,
notably corn and soyabean.
“These projects will ensure the
achievement of industry-leading
efficiency,” Syngenta said.
C hina will push to commercialise GM soyabeans over the next five
years as it seeks to raise the efficiency of its agriculture sector,
according to a Reuters report.
In its latest five-year plan for science and technology to 2020,
China outlined specific GM crops including “pushing forward the
commercialisation of new pest-resistant cotton, pest-resistant corn and
herbicide-resistant soyabeans”.
Reuters said China already allowed the growing of GM cotton but
not the cultivation of any biotech food crops, fearing strong resistance
from consumers and a local industry that sold GMO-free soyabeans
at a premium to imported beans. “Domestic soyabeans are extremely
desired and trusted by consumers for food,” the report quoted Chinese
Soybean Industry Association vice president Liu Denggao as saying.
The Reuters report said China was expected to produce 12.5M tonnes
of soyabeans in 2016/17 but would import a record 86M tonnes. It
allowed the import of GM soyabeans for use in animal feed. Corn was
used mostly for animal feed and industrial products like starch.

8 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

Biotech News.indd 1 01/11/2016 09:08

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OFI November-December p09_air liquide.indd 9 26/10/2016 14:48

 TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS NEWS

IN BRIEF
THE NETHERLANDS: Marine
Expansion at Santos port berth
biofuels supplier GoodFuels
Marine announced on
8 September that it had
L ouis Dreyfus Commodities (LDC) and Cargill expect
successfully tested a
sustainable wood-based drop-in
biofuel on a Dutch dredger.
GoodFuels Marine said the
fuel supplied by Finnish UPM
Biofuels was the first ever
biofuel derived from wood
residues used in a marine fleet.
It said testing of the fuel
marked another landmark
development in the marine
biofuels consortium that was
announced last October between
itself, dredging expert Borskalis
and global engine supplier
Wärtsilä.
CANADA: Grain and oilseeds
marketer and handler Viterra
announced on 15 September
that it is building a new high-
throughput terminal at Wadena,
Saskatchewan which will have
34,000 tonnes of storage
capacity and a loop track for
loading up to 156 railcars. It is
slated for completion in 2018.
Viterra is part of the
agricultural business segment of
Anglo-Swiss commodity trading
and mining giant, Glencore,
which bought it in 2012.
USA: TruHorizons, a joint venture
created last year between Cargill
and Trupointe Cooperative,
has officially opened its new
US$30M grain elevator outside
of Milford, Indiana, reported
Oilseed & Grain News on
20 September. The elevator
includes eight concrete silos and
two steel bins with a storage
capacity of 4.33M bushels of
corn, soyabeans and wheat.
The facility has rail access
and equipment to unload and
load trucks and railcars.
to have capacity to handle more than 4.1M tonnes
of oilseeds and grains within three years at a solid
Guaruja, since 2009.
The consortium’s investment would occur over
three years, LDC said when reporting its 2016 first
bulk terminal in Brazil’s Santos Port after winning an half results on 29 September.
auction to operate the berth for the next 25 years. “In three years’ time, the new terminal should
LDC Brasil BSL, the consortium that will operate have the capacity to handle more than 4.1M tonnes
the grain terminal, is 60% owned by Louis Dreyfus of grain annually, which will reinforce LDC’s presence
and 40% operated by Cargill. and position in the Brazilian grains and oilseeds
The two companies won the auction in December market,” LDC said.
2015, offering US$80M and beating another “Concurrently, both the grains and oilseeds
proposal from Brazil’s Agrovia SA, Reuters reported. platforms continued to build and develop a barge
The terminal was part of three port areas on offer fleet in Brazil as part of the North Corridor export
as the first of 93 nationwide the government hoped project [to move soyabeans from Mato Grosso state
to auction under a 2012 law in order to increase via the Amazon river to Barcarena port for export].
investment and upgrade port infrastructure. In Argentina, the Bahía Blanca port terminal was
As part of winning the concession, the LDC Brasil opened.
BSL consortium must move 3.9M tonnes by its third In LDC’s first half 2016 results ending 30 June,
year of operation and 4.1M tonnes by the fifth year. net income was US$136M, up 6.3% from the same
It would also need to upgrade infrastructure, period last year. Net sales fell to US$23.52bn, down
including shiploaders, at the STS04 terminal in the from US$26.39bn.
Ponta da Praia area of Santos, Reuters said. LDC CEO Gonzalo Ramirez Martiarena said the
Clythio van Buggenhout, Cargill’s port director in external environment remained challenging with
Brazil, said the company had decided to bid with growth slowing in China, the USA recovery failing to
Louis Dreyfus because they had already cooperated spread to other major economies and instances of
on a terminal on the other side of the port, in political instability and geopolitical tensions.
Cargill joins alliance targeting sulphur emissions
A
gribusiness giant Cargill has vessels and some 60 tankers. implementation is expected to
joined the Trident Alliance, “As part of the Trident take place this October and it
a coalition of ship owners and Alliance, we are pleased to is imperative that the members
operators founded in 2014 to charter vessels that comply with of the International Maritime
improve enforcement of sulphur maritime sulphur regulations to Organization consider how to
limits in Emission Control Areas reduce our environmental impact ensure effective and robust
(ECA) around the world. and increase efficiency,” said Jan enforcement on the high seas.”
“More than one year and eight Dieleman, president of Cargill’s (see ‘Biofuel Potential for Global
months after the introduction Ocean Transportation. Shipping’, p16-19)
of the 0.1% sulphur limit in the Trident chair Anna Larsson  On 22 August, Transport
North America and European said while the shipping industry Canada began monitoring all
ECA zones in January 2015, the had seen an increased level of ships operating within the
implementation and enforcement enforcement activity in several Canadian jurisdiction of the North
of the regulations remain patchy countries in northern Europe, American ECA to ensure they are
and more ship owners and the legal framework in some using fuel containing not more
operators are joining in the work countries did not appear robust than 0.1% sulphur by mass,
for more robust enforcement enough to bring them to justice. reported Hellenic Shipping News.
of sulphur regulations,” Cargill “Even more concerning is Inspectors may request
said (see ‘New regulations fuel the sea of question marks that samples of fuel during routine
concern’, OFI January 2015). remain around the introduction inspections and use portable fuel
Cargill charters and operates of the global sulphur cap. analysers to measure samples,
a global fleet of 500 dry bulk A decision on the date of the report said.

GrainCorp upgrades receival sites for record harvest in Australia

L eading Australian agribusiness GrainCorp is
investing A$21M to upgrade receival sites
in preparation for record grain harvests this
season, ABC Rural reported on 29 September.
Australia’s canola harvest is expected to
hit 3.39M tonnes, according to the Australian
Oilseeds Federation, a rise of nearly 300,000
tonnes year-on-year, Agrimoney.com said on
7 October.
GrainCorp has the largest grain storage and
logistics network in eastern Australia, spanning
regional storage facilities, rail/road and bulk
grain ports.
“Through our integrated supply chain, we
market grain to local and global markets, and
we are a large buyer of grain for our malt,
edible oils and flour processing business.”
GrainCorp acting general manager said
the A$21M investment had gone into mobile
equipment to load grain at a faster rate,
improving traffic flow and digitising data.
But he said the company would not be
reactivating any sites previously shut down as
part of a recent restructuring (see News, OFI
June 2016).
In total, GrainCorp has receival sites with
over 20M tonnes of storage capacity in
Australia; more than 4M tonnes of rail freight
capacity; and operates seven bulk grain ports
on the eastern seaboard. It also operates 14
bulk liquid terminals in Australia, New Zealand
and China
Agrimoney said Australia’s canola exports
were pegged at a three-year high of 2.7M
tonnes.
The strong Australian harvest was coming
amid diminished expectations for harvests in
other major producers, including top exporter
Canada and the EU.

10 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

Transport News.indd 1 01/11/2016 09:07

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OFI November-December p11_vopak.indd 11 26/10/2016 14:46

 R E N E WA B L E M AT E R I A L S N E W S

Louis Dreyfus opens new glycerine refinery

L ouis Dreyfus Company LLC opened its new
glycerine refinery on 28 September at its
soyabean crushing and biodiesel plant in
Claypool, Indiana, USA.
The refinery is the second largest in the USA
producing USP-grade kosher refined glycerine,
with a capacity of 36,000 tonnes/year,
according to World-Grain.
Louis Dreyfus had been marketing crude
glycerine, a co-product of biodiesel processing,
at Claypool since the plant began operations
in 2007, the report said. The new refinery
would allow the facility to process all its crude
glycerine production into kosher and halal
certified United States Pharmacopeia (USP)-
food grade glycerine.
“Our plant produces the highest-quality
refined glycerine, meeting the increasing needs
of our customers and a glycerine market that
is on the rise, as new applications for refined
glycerine continue to be discovered across a
variety of industries including personal care,
pharmaceuticals, food manufacturing, health
care, automotive, chemical and textiles,” said
Sean Doyle, regional head of oilseeds for
North America at Louis Dreyfus.
The Claypool facility was on the Norfolk
Southern railroad and had the capability to
load refined glycerine into trucks as well as
tanker railcars, World-Grain said. Louis Dreyfus
also had leased specialised, lined tank cars to
ship refined glycerine to customers, and built
additional onsite storage capacity to support
refinery operations.
Louis Dreyfus is one of the ‘ABCD’ quartet
of companies – alongside Archer Daniels
Midland, Bunge and Cargill – that dominates
world agricultural commodity trading.
The French global conglomerate –
headquartered in Amsterdam – is involved in
agriculture, oil, energy and commodities, as
well as international shipping.

IN BRIEF
FRANCE: Green chemistry firm
CARBIOS, Limagrain Céréales
Ingrédients and BpiFrance have
launched a joint venture to
produce a new generation of
plastics with enzymes embedded
in them to catalyse biodegration
in the environment after use,
CARBIOS announced on
1 September.
The joint venture, CARBIOLICE,
has the licence to incorporate
enzymated pellets into plastic
materials. After use, the
enzymes degrade the plastic
into base-molecules that can
be assimilated by the micro-
organisms of the environment.
“Biodegradation is complete
within a few months (compared
to 200 to 400 years for an
ordinary plastic,” CARBIO said.
CARBIOLICE would target the
markets of flexible films (such
as mulch films, bags and sacks)
and rigid plastics (in the field of
agriculture and for disposable
tableware).
USA: US renewable fuels and
chemicals firm Virent announced
on 15 September that it had
set up a consortium with US
petroleum refiner Tesoro, Japan’s
Toray Industries, catalysts
supplier Johnson Matthey and
The Coca-Cola Company to scale
up its BioForming technology to
produce bio-based fuels and bio-
paraxylene, a raw material for the
production of bio-polyester.
The consortium aims to build
a commercial facility to produce
these products.
Johnson Matthey and Virent
will carry out catalyst and
process development, as well
as marketing and licensing the
resulting technology platform.
Acme Hardesty expands focus to bio-based esters
L eading US oleochemical distributor Acme
Hardesty is teaming up with Green Biologics Inc
to supply bio-based esters to its customers.
combines fermentation with Clostridium microbial
biocatalysts and synthetic chemistry to produce
green chemicals.
The companies announced a joint development Acme Hardesty is a leading distributor of
agreement on 7 September in which Green castor oils and derivatives, palm derivatives and
Biologics – the US subsidiary of UK renewable surfactants.
chemicals company Green Biologics Ltd – will From a manufacturer of tallow-based glycerine, it
supply bio-based n-butanol and isopropyl alcohol, now distributes a full range of renewable palm-
produced from renewable acetone at its plant in based glycerine, fatty acids, and fatty alcohols. It is
Little Falls, Minnesota. further expanding to focus on renewable, bio-based
Acme Hardesty – a division of Jacob Stern & chemicals.
Sons Inc – will source the acids and oils needed to  Green Biologics Inc recently announced a
produce the esters, including isopropyl myristate, distribution agreement with Caldic BV, a global
isopropyl palmitate, butyl myristate, butyl palmitate, distributor headquartered in Rotterdam, the
butyl stearate, butyl oleate, and dibutylsebacate. Netherlands, Ethanol Producer Magazine reported
The companies plan to initially focus on the on 4 October.
personal care market but will also jointly target Caldic will distribute Green Biologics’ bio-based
other industrial sectors including lubricants, plastics chemicals including n-butanol, acetone and other
and speciality solvent markets. associated products to customers in Europe, Africa
Green Biologics is in the early start-up stages of and the Middle East for a variety of key markets
its first commercial production facility for renewable including coatings, adhesives, sealants and
n-butanol and acetone in Little Falls, Minnesota,with elastomers; household, industrial and institutional
the aim of beginning shipments to customers cleaners; personal care intermediates; food
by the fourth quarter of this year. Its platform ingredients; and energy chemicals.
BASF and Avantium form FDCA and PEF venture
G erman chemical giant
BASF and Dutch renewable
chemistry company Avantium
including improved barrier
properties for gases like carbon
dioxide and oxygen, leading to
medical packages.
“The market development of
PEF films in Asia will be performed
announced a new joint venture on a longer shelf life for packaged in collaboration with Mitsui &
7 October to produce and market products. It also offered a higher Co Ltd, with which Avantium
plant-based furandicarboxylic mechanical strength, allowing for announced a partnership in
acid (FDCA) and FDCA-based thinner packaging. December 2015. With Mitsui,
polyethylenefuranoate (PEF). “Alongside PEF, FDCA can be Synvina will work on developing
The Synvina venture aims to processed into polyamides for PEF thin films and PEF bottles in
invest a medium three-digit million engineering plastics and fibres, to Japan. The parties expect to offer
euro figure to build a 50,000 polyurethanes for foams, coatings samples for packaging tests from
tonnes/year plant at BASF’s and adhesives; and to esters 2017 onwards,” Avantium said.
Verbund site in Antwerp, Belgium, for personal care products and Toyobo and Avantium are also
and to license its technology for lubricants.” planning to scale up production
industrial-scale production. Avantium said the new joint at Toyobo’s existing commercial
Synvina will use Avantium’s venture would continue its polymerisation lines in Iwakuni to
process to manufacture FDCA, partnering activities, including produce PEF resin at commercial
used to produce PEF, a polyester one with Japan’s Toyobo Co Ltd scale from MEG (ethylene glycol).
suitable for food and beverage announced on 1 September, on “Furthermore, Synvina aims
packaging. PEF polymerisation and films for to continue development
Avantium said PEF offered food packaging, in electronics partnerships with The Coca-Cola
better characteristics compared applications such as displays or Company, Danone, ALPLA and
with conventional plastics, solar panels, and in industrial and other companies for PEF bottles.”
12 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

Renewable News.indd 1 26/10/2016 14:51

 Celite
®

Cynersorb

www.imerys-perfmins.com

OFI November-December p13_imerys.indd 13 26/10/2016 14:51


8-9 NOVEMBER 2016
6th ICIS Asian Surfactants Conference
VENUE: Marina Bay Sands, SIngpaore
CONTACT: Georgina Shillito, Conference
Producer, ICIS, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8652 3641
E-mail: georgina.shillito@rbi.co.uk
Website: www.icisconference.com/
asiansurfactants
10 NOVEMBER 2016
FOSFA Annual Dinner
VENUE: Battersea Evolution, London, UK
CONTACT: Gemma Hale, FOSFA, UK
Tel: +44 20 7283 5511
E-mail: contact@fosfa.org
Website: www.fosfa.org
14-16 NOVEMBER 2016
Oilseed and Grain Trade Summit/Organic &
Non-GMO Forum
VENUE: Hyatt Regency Hotel, Minneapolis, USA
CONTACT: Sule Basa, HighQuest Partners, USA
E-mail: sule.basa@gmail.com
Website: www.oilseedandgraintrade.com or
www.ongforum.org
23-25 NOVEMBER 2016
12th Indonesian Palm Oil Conference (IPOC)
and 2017 Price Outlook
VENUE: BICC, The Westin Resort Nusa Dua,
Bali, Indonesia
CONTACT: IPOC Secretariat, GAPKI, Indonesia
Tel: +62 21 57943852
E-mail: info@gapkiconference.org
Website: www.gapkiconference.org
POC2017 on 6-8 March in Kuala Lumpur
T he 28th Annual Palm and Lauric Oils
Conference & Exhibition: Price Outlook
2017/2018 (POC2017) will be held at the
Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on
6-8 March 2017.
The 28th Annual Palm & Lauric
Oils Conference & Exhibition: Price
Outlook 2017/2018 (POC2017)
“Join us and be part of the global
congregation of the palm and edible oils
industry professionals,” says POC 2017
organiser, Bursa Malaysia.
“This event has upheld its core intention of
providing valuable interaction opportunities
for delegates to discuss trade possibilities,
market trends and keep abreast of the
latest price forecasts that will impact their
respective businesses.
“Thought-provoking inputs from speakers
and their comments are key takeaways that
will continue as discussion and analysis
continue even after the event is over.
14 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com
Diary 1.5.indd 1
D IARY OF EVEN TS
1-3 DECEMBER 2016
7th FOI 2016, Fats & Oils Istanbul/FGI 2016,
Feeds & Grains Istanbul
VENUE: Ceylan InterContinental, Istanbul,
Turkey
CONTACT: Agripro, Turkey.
Tel: +90 212 236 0345
E-mail: info@fatsandoilsistanbul.com.tr
Website: www.fatsandoilsistanbul.com.tr
29-30 DECEMBER 2016
ICBB 2016: 18th International Conference on
Biofuels and Bioenergy
VENUE: Paris, France
CONTACT: World Academy of Science,
Engineering and Technology (WASET)
Website: www.waset.org/
conference/2016/12/paris/ICBB
11-12 JANUARY 2017
5th ICIS Asian Oleochemicals Conference
VENUE: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
CONTACT: Merinda Bradshaw, Registration
Team, ICIS, UK. Tel: +44 20 8652 3887
E-mail: events.registration@icis.com
Website: www.icisconference.com/
asianoleo17
23-24 JANUARY 2017
Fuels of the Future 2017
VENUE: CityCube, Berlin, Germany
CONTACT: Markus Hartmann, German
Bioenergy Association (BBE)
Tel: +49 228/81002-22
E-mail: info@bioenergie.de
Website: www.fuels-of-the-future.com
“Join us as a sponsor and maximise this
platform to further elevate your corporate
visibility and promote your respective
products and services to the delegates at
POC2017,” Bursa Malaysia says.
For sponsorship enquiries and other
information, please contact:
POC2017
poc@bursamalaysia.com
www.pocmalaysia.com
Conference rates for POC2017 are:
 EARLY BIRD OFFER:
RM 2,600 / US$710 – Bursa member rate
RM 2,800 / US$760 – Non-member rate
 NORMAL RATE:
RM 3,000 / US$820 – Bursa member rate
RM 3,200 / US$870 – Non-member rate
 WALK-IN RATE:
RM 3,800 / US$1,030
1-2 FEBRUARY 2017
Lignofuels 2017
VENUE: Helsinki, Finland
CONTACT: Dimitri Pavlyk, ACI (Europe), UK
Tel: + 44 20 7981 2503
E-mail: dpavlyk@acieu.net
Website: www.wplgroup.com/aci/event/
lignocellulosic-fuel-conference-europe
12-13 FEBRUARY 2017
Global Castor Conference 2017
VENUE: Hotel Courtyard by Marriott,
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
CONTACT: Solvent Extractors
Association of India (SEA); Tel: +91 22
22021475/22822979; E-mail: solvent@mtnl.
net.in or seaofindia1963@gmail.com
Website: www.seaofindia.com
6-8 MARCH 2017
28th Annual Palm and Laurice Oils
Conference & Exhibition: Price Outlook
Conference 2017/2018 (POC 2017)
VENUE: Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
CONTACT: POC2017 Secretariat, Malaysia
Email: poc@bursamalaysia.com
Website: www.pocmalaysia.com
27-30 MARCH 2017
12th Annual World Bio Markets
VENUE: The NH Hotel Krasnapolsky,
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
CONTACT: Green Power Conferences, UK
Tel: +44 20 7099 0600
Website: www.worldbiomarkets.com
7-8 APRIL 2017
OFI India 2017
VENUE: Bombay Convention and Exhibition
Centre (BCEC), Mumbai, India.
CONTACT: Mark Winthrop-Wallace, Sales
Manager, OFI, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855 114
E-mail: markww@quartzltd.com
Website: www.ofievents.com/india
27-28 APRIL 2017
3rd Annual Congress on Biofuels and
Bioenergy
VENUE: Dubai International Convention and
Exhibition Centre, Dubai, UAE
CONTACT: ConferenceSeries LLC
E-mail: biofuelsconference@
insightconferences.com
Website: www.biofuels-bioenergy.
conferenceseries.com/middleeast
For a full listing of oils and fats
industry events, go to:
www.ofimagazine.com
01/11/2016 12:23
 DI ARY O F E V E NT S
www.dsengineers.com

OFI India 2017 – new dates

and venue announced
7-8 April 2017, Mumbai

O FI India 2017 will be held on 7-8 April 2017 at the Bombay

Convention and Exhibition Centre in Mumbai and features:

 An international exhibition of suppliers, producers and processors

 The OFI India 2017 Business Congress & SOPA Soya Conference:
‘New Strategies, New Approaches’
 A Smart Short Course technical programme: ‘Advanced
Extraction, Processing and Use of Sunflower, Cottonseed, Canola
and Palm Oil’

Turn to p28 to find out more

For sales & sponsorship, contact:

Mark Winthrop-Wallace, Sales Manager
E-mail: markww@quartzltd.com. Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855 114

Anita Revis, Sales Consultant

E-mail: anitarevis@quartzltd.com. Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855 068

Erik Heath, Chinese Sales Executive Serving the

E-mail: erikheath@quartzltd.com. Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855 108

Nikunj Vishwakarma, India Sales Executive Vegetable Oil Industry

E-mail: nikunj@quartzltd.com. Tel: +91 6735 1022, +93 7351 7070

www.ofievents.com/india
From Basic Engineering
to
30 APRIL - 3 MAY 2017
108th AOCS Annual Meeting
Full Turnkey Project
VENUE: Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando, Florida, USA
CONTACT: AOCS Meetings Department, USA
Tel: +1 217 6934821; Fax: +1 217 6934865 Single Point Responsibility through
E-mail: meetings@aocs.org
Website: www.annualmeeting.aocs.org EPC or EPCM+® with guaranteed:

31 MAY - 3 JUNE 2017 � Process Performances

17th EFPRA Congress 2017
VENUE: Empire Riverside Hotel, Hamburg, Germany � Time Schedule
CONTACT: INTERPLAN Congress, Meeting & Event Management AG
Tel: +49 40 32 50 92 57 ; Fax: +49 40 32 50 92 44
E-mail: efpra2017@interplan.de � Budget
Website: www.efprahamburg2017.com

2-5 JULY 2017

8th European Symposium on Plant Lipids
VENUE: Scandic Hotel Triangeln, Malmö, Sweden
CONTACT: Eurofedlipid, Germany
Tel: +49 69 7917 345; Fax +49 69 7917 564
E-mail: amoneit@eurofedlipid.org
Website: www.eurofedlipid.org/meetings/malmoe2017/index.php
Engineers & Contractors
27-30 AUGUST 2017
15th Eurofedlipid Congress Brussels • Belgium
VENUE: Uppsala Konsert & Kongress, Uppsala, Sweden Tel.: +32 (0)2 634 25 00
CONTACT: Eurofedlipid, Germany Fax: +32 (0)2 634 25 25
Tel: +49 69/79 17 533; Fax: +49 69/79 17 564 info@dsengineers.com
E-mail: info@eurofedlipid.org
Website: www.eurofedlipid.org/meetings/malmoe2017/index.php
Reliability through Experience
15 OFI – www.ofimagazine.com

Diary 1.5.indd 2 01/11/2016 12:23

 TR ANSP OR T, SH IPPIN G & LOGISTIC S
Biofuel potential T
for global shipping
PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK/KARA
lthough the shipping industr is a er carbon efficient for of
transportation it still e its illions of tonnes of 2 every year.
Rose Hales investigates whether biofuels are a realistic option to
reduce global greenhouse gas e issions in this sector
16 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com
shipping emissions 4 page.indd 1
he maritime industry is responsible
for the transportation of 90% of world
trade and, according to World Shipping,
it is the world’s most carbon efficient
form of transporting goods over long
distances. However, despite this fact, the European
Commission (EC) says the global shipping industry
currently emits 1,000M (1bn?) tonnes of CO2/
year, meaning it is responsible for 2.5% of global
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is predicted
that these emissions will increase between 50%
and 250% by 2050, which is not compatible with
internationally agreed requirements that emissions
be at least halved from 1990 levels by 2050.
It is agreed that CO2 emissions across all
industries need to be lowered, but what can the
shipping sector do to play its part?
One way that the industry can attempt to lower
its emissions is through the use of biofuels. Biofuels
still emit CO2 but they are considered carbon
neutral due to the production process.
According to Dirk Kronemeijer, CEO of
GoodFuels Marine, in an article in Ship & Bunker
in January, “Sustainable marine biofuels are not
at an experimental stage – they are providing a
commercially viable solution today”. Biofuels are
already used in shipping, but what types of biofuels
are currently available, what is propelling their
use forward and what does the future hold for the
industry?
Targets for maritime emissions
The IMO set up the International Convention for
the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)
in November 1973. It has been updated by
amendments through the years and seeks to
prevent pollution of the marine environment by
ships from either operational or accidental causes.
In particular the MARPOL agreement aims to
reduce sulphur oxide (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx)
and particulate emissions from ships.
Annex VI added an amendment on the
prevention of air pollution from ships in 2005. The
annex set limits on SOx and NOx emissions and
prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone-depleting
substances. In 2011, this was further updated to
cover mandatory technical and operational energy
efficiency measures to reduce GHG emissions. This
set a legally-binding global agreement to reduce
CO2 emissions in the shipping sector, which came
into force in January 2013.
In January 2015, sulphur limits were capped
in emission control areas and require ships to use
fuel on board with a sulphur content of no more
than 0.10%, against a previous limit of 1.00%.
The emission control areas for SOx are the Baltic
Sea area; the North Sea area; the North American
area (covering designated coastal areas off the
United States and Canada); and the United States
Caribbean Sea area (around Puerto Rico and the
United States Virgin Islands).
Outside the emission control areas, the current
limit for sulphur content of fuel oil is 3.50%, but will
fall to 0.5% after 1 January 2020. The IMO will meet
on 24-28 October in London to make a decision on
whether to cap SOx emissions globally from either
2020 or 2025. The cap would require sulphur
emissions to fall from the current maximum level of
3.5% of fuel content to 0.5%.
Sulphur emissions have already been capped in
the EU from 2020, a 0.5% requirement will apply
01/11/2016 09:10
 TR ANSP OR T, SH IPPIN G & LOGISTIC S

when any ship is within 200 nautical miles (370km)
of EU member states’ coasts. China has also
introduced tighter controls on sulphur levels. Ships
calling at Shenzhen port are required to have a fuel
sulphur content of no more than 0.5%.
To hit the sulphur targets, ships can no longer
be run on 100% traditional bunker fuels, so
alternatives must be found. According to a Reuters
article in October, in order to comply with the new
the total global marine fuel mix by 2030”.
‘Fuel accounts for up Kronemeijer reiterates that the drop-in nature
of the fuel is critical “as it ensures that current
logistical and operational systems can remain in
to 50% of a ship’s place and all parties can remain in ‘business-as-
usual’ mode”.
In terms of what the sustainable fuel would be,
total operational it is noted that a long-term solution for shipping
is blendable HFO (heavy fuel oil), but “assured

costs and limiting

rules, it is suggested that ship owners switch away availability” is the most crucial element of a
from “sludgy bunker fuels” to diesel or liquefied sustainable marine biofuel.
natural gas (LNG). Kronemeijer predicts that the first volumes of

these costs is of
biofuel will initially concentrate around the areas
Biofuel potential in shipping that have incentives in place. The useage hotspots
are predicted to be Western Europe, the Nordics
Ecofys, a renewable energy consultancy, published
a report on behalf of the European Maritime Safety
Agency (EMSA) in January 2012 on ‘The Potential of
major importance to and west coast North America.
Ports such as Rotterdam and Amsterdam have
incentivised the used of lower carbon fuel, with
Biofuels for Shipping in the EU’, in order to evaluate
if and how biofuels could be used in the shipping
sector as an alternative fuel. The report looks at
the industry’ others expected to follow, Kronemeijer says.

Suitability of marine biofuels

the marine fuel market, including requirements
for marine fuel in current ships and engines and
options in marine biofuels.
The fuelling of a ship is known as bunkering,
and is a process in which multiple tanks of fuel
are loaded onto ships, usually providing enough
fuel for 70 days. Marine fuels come in two types,
either residual (heavy) or higher quality distillate
fuels.
Fuel accounts for up to 50% of a ship’s total
operational costs and limiting these costs is of
major importance to the industry. Renewable
marine biofuels are not currently as cost-effective
as petroleum derived fuels, although this could
change.
According to Kronemeijer, also in Ship & Bunker
in January, the answer to a low emission future
for the shipping industry is scaling up sustainable
marine biofuel. Kronemeijer points out the
“absence of specific requirements from shipping in
the recent Paris [Climate] Agreement” but urges
the industry to “continue to take responsibility for
playing our part”.
“Driven by both regulatory and market factors,”
Kronemeijer says, “biofuels could make up 5-10% of
The Ecofys report comments upon the suitability
of biofuels to replace marine diesel, analysing
the option on four criteria: the availability of
the fuel, production costs, maturity of the
technology, and technical compatibility with
current engines. Marine alternative fuels can be
implemented in two main types, mono-fuel or dual-
fuel.
Mono-fuels require that the engine type be
changed from diesel to otto, which is a major
adjustment that requires parts of the engine to be
rebuilt. Switching an engine from diesel to otto 

food, biodiesel, base oil,

oleochemicals, mineral specialties,
tankstorage, maritime shipping, non-hazardous chemicals
blending, multimodal shift, fuel oil, gasoline,
inland shipping, overland transport gasoline components, ethanol,
methanol, gasoil, gasoil components

www.koole.com
17 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

shipping emissions 4 page.indd 2 01/11/2016 11:58

 TR ANSP OR T, SH IPPIN G & LOGISTIC S
 (CNG) results in a combined emission reduction
of 10-15% CO2. Dual-fuel implementation is where
gas and diesel are combusted simultaneously in a
diesel engine. The CO2 savings are based on energy
content.
The preferred option for alternative fuel is
always 100% drop-in, renewable biofuel, i.e. fuel
that can be substituted fully, does not require
blending, and with no changes to original engines
or infrastructure needed, the report says.
Ecofys identifies six biofuel types that it reviews
and analyses further.
1. Biodiesel to replace marine diesel oil
(MDO)/marine gas oil (MGO) in low to
medium speed engines
2. Dimethyl ether (DME) used to replace
MDO/MGO in all engines types
3. Straight vegetable oil (SVO) to replace
intermediate fuel oil (IFO) or heavy fuel oil
in low speed engines
4. Bio-LNG or bio-methane in gas engines
using LNG
5. Bio-ethanol used in high speed main or
auxiliary engines
6. Pyrolysis bio-oil in low speed engines
Ecofys compared the most important
characteristics of the selected biofuels with the
characteristics of marine fuels (as quoted in the
ISO 8217 technical standard for marine fuels).
Based on the general specifications, the report
concludes that biodiesel and SVO are closest to
marine fuel, in terms of compliance with the ISO
standard.
In a report published this year by the European
Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC)
titled ‘Alternative Fuels for Marine and Inland
Waterways’, Kamaljit Moirangthem notes that
“for marine vessel operations, from a technical
integration perspective, biodiesel blends (up
to 20%) have been reported as the most
promising bio-based alternative fuel”. However,
Moirangthem does draw upon some concerns and
challenges, including long-term storage issues,
PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK/R.BABAKIN
TRADITIONALLY, BUNKER FUEL IS LOADED ONTO SHIPS IN MULTIPLE TANKS, USUALLY PROVIDING ENOUGH FUEL FOR 70 DAYS
18 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com
shipping emissions 4 page.indd 3
affinity to water and a risk of microbial growth
and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) material
deposition on exposed surfaces. The “main
problem” for FAME, however, is sustainability
concerns, due to the reliance on palm oil
production, Moirangthem says.
In addition, the report states, “considering that
the land required for production of 300M tonnes of
oil equivalent biodiesel based on today’s (first and
second generation biofuels) technology is slightly
larger than 5% of the current agricultural land
in the world, securing the necessary production
volume is a challenge”.
Although biodiesel offers the best alternative in
terms of its use as a ‘drop-in’ fuel with no technical
engine change required, it is not currently a
sustainable long-term solution.
Two alternatives to biodiesel and bunker fuel are
methanol and LNG, which various reports conclude
are some of the most promising solutions to the
industry’s emissions and sulphur problem.
Methanol and LNG
Methanol and LNG are petroleum-based, low-
sulphur fuels, which generate lower GHG emissions.
But, most importantly, they can be utilised as
a transition fuel to switch to biomethanol and
bio-LNG, which are chemically identical to their
petroleum counterparts but are produced from
renewable sources.
By using methanol, large ocean-going vessels
can reduce SOx emissions by 99%, Hellenic
Shipping News reported in July. In addition it
would reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 60%
and particulate matter by 95%. According to
Greg Dolan, CEO of Methanol Institute, the low
cost simplicity of converting methanol to marine
fuel is its greatest attribute. The fuel is still
petroleum-based, so is not a long-term solution;
but biomethanol is.
Biomethanol can be produced from glycerine,
as is currently being done by Netherlands-
based BioMCN, which is the first company to
produce, market and sell industrial quantities of
biomethanol. The fuel can also be made from the
black liquor produced in pulp and paper mills, also
called tall oil.
Methanol-fuelled ships have already been trialled,
including a Stena Line ferry in 2015. The ferry’s fuel
system and engines were adapted to use methanol
by Stena Line and Wärtsilä, at a cost of €22M.
Under the TEN-T Priority Project 21: Motorways of
the Seas, pilot tests involving methanol as a marine
fuel for the future are being carried out, with
considered potential for biomethanol.
Methane (or LNG) is similar to methanol in that
it can help achieve GHG emission reductions. Bio-
LNG can benefit from growing LNG infrastructure,
the JRC report says.
Bio-LNG can be produced by upgrading biogas
or by thermo-chemical conversion of lignocellulosic
biomass.
To make the switch from petroleum-sourced LNG
and bio-LNG, “technical development is needed to
produce the required amount of biogas”, the report
says. The current low availability would limit the
introduction of the fuel, specifically in Europe, it
notes.
Although the potential for bio-LNG and
biomethanol is the most promising of alternative
fuels for reducing shipping emissions, this does
still rely on the industry’s ability to upscale and
sustainably source feedstock, as well as develop
production technology which is cost effective.
What’s holding the industry back?
Cost is the main factor holding back the shipping
industry from using biofuels. Until biofuels can
be produced and sold cheaper or on a par with
petroleum marine diesel, it will be difficult to
convince the industry to adopt them.
New trends in shipping are also threatening the
marine biofuel industry. According to Ecofys, a
new trend in the industry is the reduction of staff
on ships in order to reduce costs. However, both
physical staff numbers as well as knowledge would
be needed to introduce biofuels.
Switching from bunker fuel to low-sulphur fuel
on VLCCs, for example, was estimated by shipping
broker Clarkson to boost fuel costs by around
44% (from US$212/tonne to US$379/tonne),
Reuters reported in October. Although this cost
is significant, once sulphur levels from ships are
capped globally by the IMO, ship owners will have
little choice.
In 2015, the Financial Times quoted DuPont
suggesting that agricultural waste biofuels could
not be competitive against traditional fuels unless
the price of petroleum rises to US$70-80/barrel.
However, agricultural waste is not the only source
of marine biofuels, and product cost is not the only
factor being considered.
No interest in the long-term
Even if costs alone are the only thing driving the use
of biofuels in shipping, this is a big factor.
In an article in the Guardian in August entitled,
‘Why aren’t ships using wind-power to cut their
climate footprint?’, the lack of interest in long-
term investment, in particular in physical changes
to the ships themselves, is investigated. Henning
Kuehl, head of business development at SkySails
(a German-based company which equips ships with
01/11/2016 09:10
 TR ANSP OR T, SH IPPIN G & LOGISTIC S

automated kites to help propel them and cut fuel modifications or operational modifications. Emissions targets are creeping up on the sector,
consumption) told the newspaper that, “Many ship Secondly, ARA wanted to show that the fuel would as well as limits to sulphur levels in fuel, both of
owners struggle to survive and there’s not much perform equal to or better than petroleum-sourced which are contributing to a need for alternatives to
money for investing in solutions improving long- marine fuels. traditional bunker fuels.
term profitability”. It was reported that, “the ship successfully Although biodiesel/FAME is the simplest option,
An additional problem with non-biofuel solutions completed multiple engine starts and speed as a drop-in fuel that requires no technical changes
is that “ship owners (who have to make the changes. There were no mechanical, operational to ships or engines, its sustainability and availability
investment) often don’t pay for the fuel – that’s the or qualitative differences when operating on have been brought into question.
charterer’s duty. The charterer on the other side ReadiDiesel”. ARA said the results will be fully Alternatively, research suggests that a strategic
doesn’t charter the ship for long enough a period to analysed and a final report issued at a later date. move from bunker fuel to methanol and LNG –
make low-carbon technologies pay back.” The US Navy is pursuing drop-in biofuel for its initially petroleum-based, but transitioning to
ships in order to “increase operational flexibility biomethanol and bio LNG – would offer the greatest
Current experiments in bio-ship fuel and energy security”, it says. emissions savings in the short and long-term. It is
sustainable and, with investment in technology and
In October 2015, a consortium was announced Not if, but when feedstock sourcing, could become available and
between dredging and marine expert Boskalis, ideally cost effective. 
and global engine supplier Wärtsilä, which will Biofuel use in the shipping industry is no longer a
collaborate with GoodFuels Marine, the first marine case of if, it is a case of when. Rose Hales is OFI’s editorial assistant
biofuels company focused on the global commercial
fleet.
The aim of the consortium is to develop
sustainable drop-in marine biofuels. Through a
two-year pilot programme, the companies hope to
accelerate the development of sustainable, scalable
and affordable biofuels for use in the shipping
industry. In particular it will focus on sustainable
feedstock, securing industry certification and
preparing for large scale production, the companies
said in a statement. The focus is on tangible
opportunities for marine biofuel supply.
In September, nearly a year into the
collaboration, the companies announced the
successful live tests of a sustainable wood-based
biofuel in a marine fleet. The biofuel is called
UPM BioVerno and was used in a 1696 deadweight
tonne cutter suction dredger in various blends
up to 50%. Over the operating period, the
companies say the ship saved 600 tonnes of CO2.
According to the companies, marine biofuels could
reduce CO2 emissions from vessels by 80-90%, and
also eliminate SOx emissions, cut NOx emissions
by up to 10% and reduce particulate matter (PM)
expelled in the exhaust plume by 50%.
On 20 September, Ship & Bunker reported that
GoodFuels Marine was to work with the Port of
Amsterdam on a marine biofuel pilot project which
aims to reduce the carbon footprint of the port’s
fleet by 14%. The project will run for four months
Westway becomes Contanda.
and the fleet will use hydrogenated marine biofuels. A new beginning.
Doryan Daamen, commercial director marine
at GoodFuels says, “For the immediate future, we
will continue to produce our fuels mostly from
waste streams such as used cooking oil. But we
are currently working – also actively with the port
involved – to develop new marine biofuel streams
that can be scaled up significantly.”
ARA Alternative Fuels announced in August
that a sea trial with the US Navy using 100%
drop-in renewable diesel fuel as a replacement for Committed to Bulk Storage Solutions
traditional marine diesel had been successfully www.contanda.com
completed in California.
The trial lasted 12 hours and used 18,000 gallons
of ReadiDiesel, which has the same molecular
composition, boiling range distribution, and
physical and energy density as petroleum fuels. The
fuel is 100% renewable, produced lower emissions
and reduces greenhouse gas emission by 80%
compared to petroleum-sourced fuels, ARA says.
The trial had two aims, to show that ReadiDiesel
could be used as a drop-in replacement for
traditional marine diesel, and would require no
blending with petroleum fuels, and no equipment

19 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

shipping emissions 4 page.indd 4 01/11/2016 09:10


Sustainable soya
Brazil has been accused in the past of allowing soyabean production
to lead to the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, but various
laws, programmes and partnerships have been introduced, which
are making soya more sustainable. Rose Hales writes
IMAGE: ULISSE_01/ ADOBE STOCK
B
BRAZIL HAS INTRODUCED NEW POLICIES AND PARTNERSHIPS TO COMBAT DEFORESTATION IN THE AMAZON
razil is the world’s second biggest
producer of soyabeans and home to the
world’s largest tropical rainforest – the
Amazon. The country’s expansion of soya
growing areas has led to deforestation in
the Amazon but various authorities and groups
have been working to make Brazilian soya more
productive and sustainable.
The Forest Code
Brazil’s government has been attempting to
20 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com
sustainable soya.indd 1
OILSEED S
encourage the protection of the Amazon from
agricultural expansion since 1965, when legislation
in the form of a Forest Code was first passed.
Following years of failed implementation and
controversy, a new Forest Code was passed in May
2012, with stricter rules and a new monitoring
system, which the government hopes will mean
greater success.
The Forest Code requires landowners in the
Amazon to set aside 80% of their property as a
legal reserve to conserve natural vegetation. The
other 20% can be used to grow soya or for any other
agricultural uses. Originally in 1965, the legal
reserve requirement was 50%.
The legislation alone is nothing without a clever
monitoring system, to enforce the law and examine
the results. In order to make this a reality, the federal
government has developed a system through which
property owners can register their own properties
and land, called the Rural Environment Registry
(CAR). CAR is part of the National Environmental
Information System (SINIMA), and is managed by
the Ministry of Environment.
The aim of the system is to register all the
estimated 5.5M properties in Brazil, covering
around 400Mha of land.
The system is accessed through a website.
Owners map or draw out their property, marking
out firstly their production areas, followed by
native vegetation and the placement of other
physical characteristics such as rivers. The
online system then calculates whether the
landowner is in compliance with the legislation
and, if not, the percentage of land that needs
to be recovered. The software uses high-resolution
images of the areas that are purchased yearly
by the government. The updated images are used
for registry, as well as to monitor compliance
annually.
Francisco J. B. de Oliveira Filho, director of the
Department of Policies to Reduce Deforestation of
Brazil’s Ministry of Environment, told OFI magazine
that the Brazilian government understands that
this cannot be done instantly.
If the property owner needs to recover land, they
will agree with the government what will be done
and in what time frame. The government will then
monitor the progress and check that the recovery
is taking place as agreed. If it is observed that a
landowner is not carrying out the land recovery as
agreed, another discussion will take place.
Through monitoring the images on CAR,
Oliveira-Filho says the government can see who
is registered by region and state. As of November
2015, 60% of landowners were registered in the
system.
A challenging situation
OFI magazine spoke to Oliveira-Filho about the
challenges arising from the Forest Code and the
Rural Environment Registry.
“The first challenge is to get everyone on board
and in the system,” Oliveira-Filho says. “As soon as
we know what are the areas and the needs that we
have in terms of recovery, we can think about the
strategy to do the recovery.”
Once everyone is in the system, the next
challenge is, of course, compliance. For agricultural
landowners, compliance is simpler; in order to set
aside an area, the farmer only needs to refrain from
planting in that area – fences are not needed and
the cost is estimated to be very low. Recovery can
occur very naturally.
On the other hand, for landowners or farmers who
raise animals, the situation is more complicated. In
order to recover specific areas, fences will need to
be erected to keep animals out, and investment will
be needed to support farmers in this position.
According to a WWF report in February 2016, the
main issue is that including the final 40% of farmers
in the Forest Code is likely to be considerably more
challenging than the first 60%, as these are the
more resistant producers.
26/10/2016 14:52
 OILSEED S

A necessary partnership TABLE 1: THE SIZE OF A LEGAL RESERVE DEPENDING ON PROPERTY LOCATION

There is no doubt that Brazil’s Forest Code is Legal Amazon

ambitious and challenging, and will be difficult to
achieve. Oliveira-Filho told OFI that the key for the
government is partnership with the agricultural
sector. Without that partnership and shared
interest, the 60% could not have been agreed, and
without their continued support the remaining
40% will not be registered. In Mato Grosso (Brazil’s
leading soyabean growing state) 75% of the
properties have been registered. This 75% includes
between 80-90% of soya producers in the state.
Ricardo Arioli Silva, an agronomy engineer
at the Mato Grosso Soybean and Corn Growers
Association (APROSOJA) and the president of
the environmental commission of Brazil’s state
federation spoke on behalf of farmers in Brazil’s
leading soyabean growing region. Arioli Silva said
“farmers are now much more convinced that this
programme and new law will help us a lot”. There
used to be resistance, but they no longer see this.
It comes down to the simple fact that, “if you are
not doing anything wrong, then what are you afraid
of?”, Arioli Silva says.
Farmers in Mato Grosso want the government to
act faster on illegal deforestation, as Arioli Silva says
most farmers are complying with the law with just
a handful responsible for reports on the increase in
deforestation, which is hurting the reputation of
everyone.
Help is also coming from the banks, Oliveira-
Filho says. After 2017, farmers will be unable to
obtain a loan from a bank if they do not have CAR,
due to issues of insurance and guarantees. Making
compliance with the legislation a requirement for
credit serves as its own enforcement mechanism.
Controversy
There is some controversy in the new Forest Code,
in the form of an extended deforestation amnesty.
The new code grants amnesty to thousands of
“small” properties that deforested illegally before
July 2008 and would have previously had to restore
the land at their own expense. Properties that have
now been granted amnesty range in size between
20ha to 440ha, and include 90% of Brazil’s rural
properties.
According to a report in Science in April 2014,
the amnesty is particularly worrying because
it “could lead to the perception that illegal
deforesters are unlikely to be prosecuted and may
even be exonerated in future law reforms”.
Land Use
Forest Cerrado
Legal Reserve 80%
Productive Use 20%
health and safety in the rural workplace – all free
of charge”.
According to a Soja Plus report released by
the organisers, since 2011 in Mato Grosso, the
programme has held 29 workshops and field days
for 4,630 rural producers. More than 36,000
informative signs were distributed at farms,
detailing the correct procedures for safety and
environmental protection. In addition, technical
pamphlets, educational videos and index cards were
distributed.
According to Arioli Silva, the Soja Plus Program is
about “continuous improvement”. It helps farmers
to be in better compliance with legislation, which
may make it easier for them to be certified – if they
choose that route.
As of November 2015, 17% of soya producers
were enrolled in the Soja Plus Program, meaning
it still has a long way to go to get up to 100%.
However, according to Carlo Lovatelli, president of
ABIOVE, it is not a lack of interest that is holding
the programme back from signing up 100% of soya
farmers, but that too many are trying to sign up at
once. Lovatelli explains that farmers communicate
between themselves very rapidly if something is
good. As the programme helps them match the
EU standard for products, which is the benchmark
standard for Brazil, so “they line up to apply to the
programme…they know it is good and it is for free”.
The question is whether the programme has the
capacity if 100% of farmers want to sign up. Arioli
FIGURE 1: AREAS OF PERMANENT PROTECTION REQUIRED BY THE FOREST CODE
Natural reservoir strip
Area requirements
Urban natural reservoir
strip
Maintain strip 30m
Spring
Natural reservoir area Riparian radius
<20ha 50m
Maintain strip 50m
Natural reservoir
area >20ha
Maintain strip 100m
Rest of Brazil
Grasslands
35% 20% 20%
65% 80% 80%
Silva admitted that the organisers would need help
to make this happen.
In order to secure help with the programme,
Arioli Silva tells OFI about the agreement which
was due to be signed with the European Feed
Manufacturers’ Federation (FEFAC). Instead
of simply telling farmers that they are not in
compliance, FEFAC and the federal government can
help the farmers become compliant.
The system that hopes to help farmers become
compliant with health & safety requirements has a
helpful connection with CAR. As well as ensuring
compliance with The Forest Code, CAR is also a
way of documenting how many farms are certified
in different areas. According to Arioli Silva,
there is a checklist of more than 150 items that
each farm needs to resolve in order to be
certified. Fabio Trigueirinho, secretary general
of ABIOVE, reiterated that it is the complexity of
Brazilian law that makes it so difficult for farmers
to comply; there are more than 250 requirements
for farmers.
When asked specifically what was causing the
most difficulty for farmers, Arioli Silva immediately
brought up the labour law. Arioli Silva says the
government adapted the city law for the labour law
in Brazil. “They want us to have the same labour
law for the farmers”. However, he says while city
workers can work designated hours and times, it is
impractical to for farm workers to work the same
way. 
River width
<10m River width River width
Riparian 10-50m 10-50m
strip 30m Riparian strip Riparian strip
50m 50m

Soja Plus Program

The Soja Plus Program is a partnership that has
been running since 2011 between industries
and producers, formed to develop a common
sustainable agenda. The main players working
closely to support the programme are the Brazilian
Vegetable Oil Industries Association (ABIOVE),
APROSOJA and the Mato Grosso State National
River width
Service for Rural Learning (SENAR/MT). The aim >600m
of the programme is to train and educate rural Riparian strip
workers and businesses in order to help them better Legal Reserve: set aside area 500m
comply with legislation. that ensures sustainable
economic use of natural River width 200--
According to the programme’s organisers, a 600m
resources, and promotes
further objective is “to reinforce the idea that it conservation of native fauna and flora Riparian strip
is possible to reconcile agricultural resources with 200m
conservation of natural resources and to improve

21 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

sustainable soya.indd 2 26/10/2016 14:52


 At the time of speaking to Arioli Silva in November
2015, Rosana Verza at the Embassy of Brazil said
that the Minister of Agriculture Kátia Abreu came
to London previously and also commented on
the country’s labour law. It was hoped that the
government would look into adapting the law for
rural areas rather than transferring it directly from
the cities.
However, it looks as though this could also fall
victim to President Rousseff’s impeachment on
12 May 2016. Alongside Rousseff, the president’s
cabinet was also replaced by stand-in President
Michel Temer, including the Minister of Agriculture.
Kátia Abreu was replaced by Blairo Maggi on 12
May.
According to a report in the Guardian in May,
the new finance minister Henrique Meirelles has
already said that reform on the country’s labour
laws is needed, although it was unclear what type of
reform he has in mind.
Soy Moratorium
Brazil’s final weapon in the drive towards making
soya more sustainable is called the Soy Moratorium.
The moratorium was formed in 2006 after
Greenpeace published the report ‘Eating up the
Amazon’, in which it claimed soya was becoming
a major driver in the deforestation of the Amazon.
According to Carlo Lovatelli, the industry had
to respond to the report, so it organised a meeting
on 24 July 2006 where it was decided that from
that day on, Brazil’s major soya trading companies
would no longer purchase soyabeans from areas
of the Amazon biome that had been deforested.
Lovatelli says that the reaction the idea received
was slightly surprising; it was a huge hit and created
significantly more noise than they expected.
After the moratorium had been signed, the group
went on to set up a working group on soyabean,
which included the NGOs that it had previously
fought with furiously. The group, known as The
Soya Working Group, is co-chaired by Greenpeace
from the NGO side, and Lovatelli from ABIOVE’s
side. Carlo says that instead of fighting the NGOs
through the press, which had never previously been
successful, they all sat around the table together
and started to talk, negotiate and work through the
process.
In 2008, the moratorium was renewed for the
first time. According to Lovatelli, it was clear to the
Ministry of the Environment that the moratorium
was an extremely positive and constructive
device that was achieving results in Brazil’s soya
industry. Therefore, at the renewal in 2008, the
Brazilian government added its signature, which
Greenpeace reported showed its commitment to
the development of a long-term solution. Through
the support of the government also came support
from the Brazilian Space Agency (INPE), which
would help with monitoring, and Banco do Brasil
(the federal bank), which provides the majority of
the financing to the industry.
The moratorium was originally only intended
to last a few years. When OFI met Lovatelli in
November 2015, he said that the moratorium was
due to expire in May 2016, at the point that the
Forest Code took over. However, in June 2016 it
was announced that the Soy Moratorium would be
extended indefinitely, or until it was deemed no
longer necessary. The announcement was met with
a very positive response.
22 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com
sustainable soya.indd 3
OILSEEDS
Proof that the moratorium works
Lovatelli told OFI that since the moratorium was
signed, less than 1% of deforestation in the Amazon
biome was due to soya. “This gave us assurance
that soyabean is not a driver for deforestation
in the Amazon”. According to Greenpeace, “the
moratorium is widely credited as a major factor
in the reduction of deforestation in the Brazilian
Amazon in recent years”.
In addition, Mongabay reported in January 2015,
citing a study published in Science journal, that
the moratorium has been more effective in cutting
forest destruction than the government’s land use
policy.
Before the moratorium, 30% of soya expansion in
the Amazon occurred through deforestation. This
figure now stands at about 1%.
The study compares the effectiveness of the
moratorium with that of the government’s Forest
Code. The paper was led by Holly Gibbs of the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. Gibbs told
Mongabay, “Only 115 people out of several thousand
soya farmers have violated the Soy Moratorium since
2006, but over 600 of them have violated the Forest
Code. So, this same group of farmers is five times
more likely to violate the government policy than
they are to violate the private sector agreement.”
Not all the problems have been solved
Despite the praise that the Soy Moratorium has
received, environmental groups are saying that its
power needs to be extended to the Cerrado. They
argue that the Cerrado is still experiencing a high
conversion rate for soya, with an estimated 20% of
new soya planting taking place within the Cerrado
area, Science reports.
A study also published in the Science journal
on 1 April 2016 reveals the true extent of the
destruction of the Cerrado. Deforestation that was
previously prevalent in the Amazon has shifted to
the neighbouring Cerrado savannah, the study
found, with crop planting rapidly clearing native
vegetation.
Gillian Galford of the University of Vermont
ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SAY THAT THE POWER OF THE SOY MORATORIUM MUST BE EXTENDED TO THE CERRADO SAVANNAH
REGION, WHICH ALSO FACES THE THREAT OF NATURAL VEGETATION BEING CLEARED FOR SOYA PLANTING
said the study is the first “to show how intense the
deforestation and agricultural expansion in the
Cerrado has been in the past decade”, adding that it
is “clearly a new hotspot for tropical deforestation”.
When asked by OFI in November 2015 about
whether they thought that deforestation within the
Cerrado is a growing problem, Lovatelli dismissed
the idea by commenting that “there is no forest in
the Cerrado”, which arguably misses the point.
Arioli Silva commented: “there are some states
that are developing their soyabean areas [in the
Cerrado] legally. So until it is illegal, then why not?”
He added, “money must come from somewhere”.
The results of the study showed that agricultural
land on a 45M ha study area in the Cerrado has
doubled between 2003 and 2013, from 1.3M ha to
2.5M ha. The loss of native vegetation is not the
only concern, as the study assessed the risk the loss
of this vegetation has on rainfall across Brazil. It
found that during the dry season, 60% less water
is recycled by cropland than the native vegetation.
Researchers say that continued agricultural
growth could reduce rainfall or delay the onset of
rainy seasons. Late rainfall could have dramatic
implications on what can be grown, not only in the
Cerrado but also in the Amazon.
The study describes one ‘silver lining’ that was
found, that ‘double cropping’ – the planting of two
crops in the same field in a single growing season –
can help to alleviate the decrease in water recycling.
Improving productivity
The key element in making soyabean more
sustainable and protecting Brazil’s important
biomes is productivity. Protection and production
need to be combined by increasing the productivity
of land, representatives from the industry told OFI.
Now that the Soy Moratorium has been renewed
indefinitely, it is hoped that it can be extended,
and similar monitoring and intervention measures
can be established in the Cerrado. Alongside this,
if the Forest Code and Soja Plus can sign up the
remaining landowners, Brazil will be able to say that
soya is no longer responsible for deforestation. 
Rose Hales is OFI’s editorial assistant
IMAGE: DIEGOPONTES7170/ ADOBE STOCK
26/10/2016 14:52
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23 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

OFI November-December p33_geka&oilroq.indd 23 26/10/2016 15:19


Thailand aims for
fuel self-reliance
IMAGE: MUANGSATUN/ ADOBE STOCK
The Thai Cabinet revised its
Alternative Energy Development
Plan in 2015, aiming to promote
the higher use of ethanol and
biodiesel up to the year 2036
while remaining reliant on
domestic feedstocks
I
n October 2015, the Thai Cabinet approved
Thailand’s revised national energy plan,
consisting of three plans: Alternative Energy
Development Plan: AEDP 2015-2036, Oil Plan
2015-2036, and Gas Plan 2015-2036. The plan
revision is intended to align with the 11th National
Economic and Social Development Plan.
The bottom line of the revised AEDP is to promote
higher use of biofuels while remaining self-reliant
in feedstock and biofuels with minimum trade in
both. The plan also aims to increase mandatory
biodiesel blending from the current B7 level to
B10 in 2018. The government plans to subsidise
the use of B20 in large trucks on a voluntary
24 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com
Thailand biodiesel.indd 1
BIOFU ELS
basis, beginning in 2016.
However, achieving higher blends under this
mandatory requirement plan may be difficult to
reach or sustain given the volatile weather-driven
production of palm oil, which is the only domestic
biodiesel feedstock allowed.
Thailand’s campaign to utilise used cooking oil
(UCO) for biodiesel production exists among one
or two biodiesel companies as a Corporate Social
Responsibility (CRS) campaign but the use is
limited to 5-6M litres of UCO/year. With regards to
ethanol, the government is still promoting its use
through price incentives and excise tax reduction
for cars compatible with E20 and E85 gasohol.
In 2017, fuel ethanol production and
consumption should continue to increase to 1.4bn
litres, supported equally through price incentives
to the State Oil Fund and market incentives to
retailers. The price subsidies, which are paid by
the State Oil Fund, make gasohol (ethanol-blended
gasoline) 20-40% cheaper than regular gasoline.
Although the government’s policy is to maintain
its B7 mandates in 2016 and 2017, it may reduce
mandates at any time. For example, the government
lowered B7 mandates to B5, effective on 25 July
2016 because palm oil supplies appeared to be
lower than earlier estimates and the mandate would
have negatively affected cooking palm oil supplies.
The significant decline in diesel prices in 2015
not only encouraged diesel vehicle users (mainly
trucks or trailers) to switch to diesel from CNG,
but it also stimulated increased use of diesel among
smaller vehicles (ie pick-up trucks). As a result,
biodiesel consumption rose by 4% to 1.23bn litres
in 2015, as compared to 1.18bn litres in 2014.
Prevailing low prices for diesel are expected to drive
biodiesel consumption growth by 6% in 2016 and
8% in 2017.
Policy and programme
The 10-year Alternative Energy Development Plan
(2012-2021) was approved by the Thai Cabinet and
valid until it was replaced by Thailand’s 20-year
National Energy Plan (2015-2036) in October 2015
in order to align it with the 11th National Economic
and Social Development Plan. Like the 2012-2021
plan, the new plan includes the Alternative Energy
Development Plan (AEDP) and the Oil Plan and
Gas Plan. Under the AEDP, the share of renewable
and alternative energy from biofuel is projected
to increase from 7% of total fuel energy use in
2015 to 25% in 2036. In order to accomplish this
goal, the Thai government is aiming to increase
ethanol consumption from 1.17bn litres in 2015
to 4.1bn litres by 2036, and to increase biodiesel
consumption from 1.23bn litres in 2015 to 5.1bn
litres by 2036.
The revised AEDP aims to promote the higher
use of biofuels while remaining self-reliant, with
restrictions on trade in feedstocks and biofuels. On
ethanol, the government is still promoting the use
of gasohol through price incentives and excise tax
reduction for cars compatible with E20 and E85
gasohol. As for biodiesel policy, on the demand
side, the government continues to impose the
mandatory blending of biodiesel in diesel markets,
which covers on-road, agriculture and industry. To
meet the demand, the government has targeted an
oil palm acreage of 10.20M rai (1.63M ha) by 2036
with the plan that only domestic palm oil will be
used as a feedstock and other feedstocks like animal
fats and UCO, will be used in small quantities.
ETHANOL
The Thai government aims to increase ethanol
consumption from 1.2bn litres in 2015 to 3.3bn
litres by 2021 and up to 4.1bn litres by 2036.
The government continues to promote the use
of gasohol through price incentives. The price
subsidies, which are paid by the State Oil Fund, make
gasohol 20-40% cheaper than regular gasoline. The
price subsidy rises as the blend level increases with
the effect of lowering retail prices at the pump of
higher blend levels. In addition, the government
also increased the marketing subsidies to gasoline
stations, at around 5 baht/litre (US$0.54/gallon),
to entice them to expand sales of E85 gasohol (a
mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline).
The government also supports the manufacturing
of vehicles that are compatible with E20 and E85
gasohol. The excise tax rate for Eco-cars (less than
1,300 cc engines with fuel consumption rate of no
more than five litres per 100km.) is 17% compared
to 30% for E10 vehicles. Moreover, the government
will give an additional 3% reduction in the excise
tax rate for the manufacturing of Eco-cars, which
use E85 gasohol.
01/11/2016 09:10
 BIOFU ELS

Under this same plan, the government expects
molasses-based ethanol, which accounts for around
70% of total ethanol production in 2015, to
dominate Thailand’s overall ethanol production
through 2026 with molasses-based ethanol
production reaching 1.8bn litres. This is based
on the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives’
estimate that Thai sugarcane production will reach
the highest potential at 182M tonnes with molasses
production of 8.56M tonnes in 2026.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and
Cooperatives foresees the increase in demand for
ethanol from 2026 onward will be filled by cassava
as molasses-based ethanol facilities will not be able
to expand any further due to limited sugarcane
acreage. Cassava-based ethanol production is
expected to increase to 2.4bn litres by 2036 as
cassava production is expected to increase to 17M
tonnes in 2036, compared to 10M tonnes in 2015.
This will account for around 60% of total ethanol
consumption of 4.1bn litres in 2036. Meanwhile,
molasses-based ethanol will account for around 40%
of total ethanol production by 2036.
BIODIESEL
The Thai government has set a biodiesel
consumption target of 5.1bn litres by 2036. The
plan focuses on both supply and demand.
On the demand side, the government continues
to impose mandatory blending of biodiesel in diesel
for any purpose. The plan also aims to increase the
mandatory blend rate from B7 to B10 and B20.
The government plans to subsidise the use of B20
in large trucks on a voluntary basis, beginning
in 2016, and to commence the B10 mandatory
requirement in 2018.
However, hitting the mandatory biodiesel
requirement plan may be difficult given the
weather-driven volatility of palm oil production, the
only feedstock used for biodiesel in Thailand.
On the supply side, the government has targeted
an oil palm acreage of 10.20M rai (1.63M ha) by
2036. Production of palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB)
is expected to reach 29.4M tonnes. Out of this
FFB production, 4.24M tonnes of FFB would be
processed as biodiesel in 2036.
Ethanol
PRODUCTION
In 2017, fuel ethanol production is forecast to
increase to 1.4bn litres, up around 7% from 2016.
Molasses-based ethanol still dominates Thailand’s
overall ethanol production, accounting for around
70% of fuel ethanol. The demand for molasses is
expected to increase to 3.8M tonnes, up 8% from
2016.
Presently, there are 21 fuel ethanol plants with
a production capacity of 1.5bn litres/year. The
production capacity of molasses-based ethanol is
currently around 0.9bn litres/year. Cassava and
sugarcane production capacities are 0.5 and 0.1bn
litres, respectively.
In 2016, fuel ethanol production is expected to
increase to around 1.3bn litres, up 11% from the
2015’s level. The increase is driven by growing
domestic consumption of gasohol. Molasses is
the primary feedstock for the increased ethanol
production. The demand for molasses is expected
to increase to 3.6M tonnes, up around 13% from
3.2M tonnes in 2015. Demand for cassava increases
to an estimated 2.4M tonnes, up 8% from the
previous year. The government’s plan to use its own
rice stocks for ethanol production to substitute
for cassava is not viable as rice prices are far above
cassava prices. The sole sugarcane-based ethanol
plant is expected to operate at full capacity of
around 76M litres/year using around 1M tonnes of
sugarcane.
The production of non-fuel ethanol is controlled
by the government. The Liquor Distillery
Organization, which is under the authority of the
Excise Department of the Ministry of Finance, has
a monopoly on the production of industrial grade
ethanol in Thailand with a production capacity of
20M litres/year. Meanwhile, domestic demand for
industrial grade ethanol, particularly for medical,
pharmacy, paints and cosmetics uses, is around 18M
litres/year. The primary feedstock for industrial
ethanol production is molasses and cassava.
Presently, fuel ethanol production capacity is at
81% of full capacity. Production capacity is expected
to reach 96% by 2017. Ethanol producers reportedly
have received approval from the government to
expand their production capacities. However, their
investment has been delayed due to the concerns
over economic instability.
CONSUMPTION
In 2017, ethanol consumption is forecast to increase
to 1.4bn litres, up around 8% from 1.3bn litres used
in 2016. This is mainly due to growing demand for
E20 and E85. The demand for E20 and E85 will
be driven by price subsidies and the expansion of
E20 gasohol stations. Total gasohol (gasoline with
ethanol blends of all levels) consumption is forecast
to increase to around 11bn litres in 2017, up
around 7% from an estimated 10.3bn litres in 2016.
The average ethanol blending rate is expected to
increase from 12.1% in 2015 to 12.6% in 2017.
During January-May 2016, ethanol consumption 

TABLE 1: BIODIESEL PRODUCTION AND USE IN THAILAND

Biodiesel (million litres)
Calendar Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Beginning Stocks 6 7 8 22 12 33 20 18 17 48
Production 448 610 660 630 910 1,080 1,170 1,230 1,330 1,420
Imports 0 0 0 0 5 6 12 2 5 5
Exports 0 0 0 0 4 49 4 3 4 4
Consumption 447 609 646 640 890 1,050 1,180 1,230 1,300 1,410
Ending Stocks 7 8 22 12 33 20 18 17 48 59
Balance Check 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Production Capacity
Number of Biorefineries 9 13 13 13 10 10 10 12 12 12
Nameplate Capacity 920 2,170 2,170 2,170 1,600 1,600 1,600 2,060 2,060 2,060
Capacity Use (%) 48.7 28.1 30.4 29.0 56.9 67.5 73.1 59.7 64.6 68.9
Feedstock Use for Fuel (1,000 tonnes)
REDPO/CPO 300 400 445 390 630 775 825 845 885 945
Stearin 125 170 180 190 200 210 235 245 280 300
FFA of Palm Oil 0 0 0 20 20 25 55 85 95 105
Market Penetration (M litres)
Biodiesel, on-road use 265 366 389 380 540 650 707 763 780 850
Diesel, on-road use 10,580 11,080 11,100 11,150 12,340 12,500 12,640 13,153 13,680 13,950
Blend rate (%) 2.5 3.3 3.5 3.4 4.4 5.2 5.6 5.8 5.7 6.1
Diesel, total use 17,634 18,465 18,480 19,192 20,565 20,892 21,071 21,921 22,800 23,250
SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY BUSINESS, DEPARTMENT OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND EFFICIENCY DEPARTMENT OF CUSTOMERS, AND FAS/BANGKOK’S ESTIMATES

25 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

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 BIOFU ELS

 totalled 568M litres, up around 8% from the This accounted for less than 1% of total ethanol 1.42bn litres in 2017 in line with an increase in
same period last year. This is due to an increase production. The Thai government imposes a diesel consumption and an estimated increase in
in gasohol consumption to 4,142M litres, up 13% 2.5baht/litre duty on ethanol imports (US$0.27/ the blending rates of biodiesel in diesel total use.
from the same period last year. Consumption gallon). It is estimated that about 70% of B100 is derived
of gasohol accounted for 95% of total gasoline from RBD PO or CPO, 22% from palm stearin, and
consumption. E20 gasohol consumption also STOCKS 8% from FFA. Given the very limited role of trade,
continued to increase, accounting for 17% of total Ethanol stocks are expected to decline to around biodiesel production in 2016 is forecast to grow by
gasohol consumption due to the government price 20M litres in 2017 in anticipation of growing 12% from the previous year to 1.38bn litres due
subsidies. Presently, E10 and E20 retail prices are demand for gasohol consumption. Most fuel ethanol to a sharp increase in diesel demand driven by
25-30% cheaper than regular gasoline. E20 retail producers mainly supply their ethanol to domestic continued prevailing low petroleum prices against
prices are also approximately 10% cheaper than E10 refineries for gasohol production. Consequently, compressed natural gas (CNG).
gasohol. The number of gasohol stations continued their total storage capacities are limited to only Crude palm oil supply available for domestic
to increase nationwide to 3,105 stations for E20 around one month of domestic use. food, feed and industrial use plus exports is forecast
and 867 stations for E85, compared to 2,836 and to be 2.3M tonnes in MY 2016/17. CPO production
678 stations in May 2015, respectively. Biodiesel is estimated to marginally grow to 2.1M tonnes in
2015/16 from 2.07M tonnes in 2014/15 due mainly
TRADE PRODUCTION (see Table 1, previous page) to lower yields caused by dry weather conditions in
According to the Thai Department of Customs, B100 or biodiesel in Thailand is currently produced 2014 and 2015 (see Table 2, below).
fuel ethanol is a controlled import/export from palm oil-derived feedstock such as crude palm The Thai government has recently promoted
product (HS22072011 and HS22072019). Traders oil (CPO), refined bleached deodorised (RBD) palm the use of lower-cost H-FAME biodiesel in advance
must have import/export permits, which will be oil, palm stearin, and free fatty acids of palm oil of B10 and above mandates. H-FAME is a process,
considered by the Ministry of Industry (MOI). To (FFA). Thailand’s campaign to utilise used cooking developed by a Japanese research team, to
date, the MOI has never approved any imports of oil for biodiesel production exists among one or upgrade the quality of conventional biodiesel or
fuel ethanol into Thailand as there are sufficient two biodiesel companies as a Corporate Social fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) through partial
domestic supplies. Also, sources report that Responsibility (CRS) campaign but the use is hydrogenation. Trade sources reported that Global
ethanol producers normally export only ethanol limited to 5-6M litres of UCO per annum. Green Chemical, a large biodiesel producer in
for industrial uses as their facilities were originally Biodiesel production is solely driven by Thailand, may construct an H-FAME processing
designed to produce fuel ethanol for the domestic government mandates, mainly aimed to help oil plant and launch it commercially once the B10
market and they do not have the storage facilities to palm farmers. All palm oil feedstocks used for mandate is imposed.
cover fuel exports. biodiesel are domestic since the government Due to fierce competition between Thailand’s
Non-fuel, industrial ethanol exports are likely to strictly controls the imports of palm oil. Meanwhile, biodiesel processors, newcomers have been reluctant
be minimal to zero in 2016 and 2017 due mainly the blending of biodiesel among petroleum to enter the market since 2010. Two establishments
to growing domestic demand for ethanol. In 2015 refineries is strictly controlled and monitored to that suspended their biodiesel production during
there were no exports of fuel ethanol. Also, exports comply with the mandatory requirements. The 2012-2014, revived their operations in 2015. As
of industrial-grade ethanol were marginal at around mandatory blending of biodiesel in diesel markets a result, all 12 producers as listed by Department
0.1M litres. Meanwhile, non-fuel, industrial ethanol covers all purposes including on-road, agriculture of Energy Business, are currently operating with
imports were steady at around 11M litres, mainly and industry. an estimated total production capacity of 2.06bn
for use in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Biodiesel production is forecast to grow 7% to litres/year (see Table 3, next page). In 2015, three of
the largest B100 processors in Thailand – the Global
Green Chemical Company (previously named Thai
TABLE 2: THAILAND’S PRODUCTION, SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR CPO (1,000 TREES/HA/TONNES)
Oleochemicals), New Biodiesel Company – and
Oil Palm 2014/2015 2015/2-16 2016/2017 the Bangchak Biofuel Company increased their
Market begin year January 2015 January 2016 January 2017 production capacities by (46M litres/year).
Thailand USDA Official New Post USDA Official New Post USDA Official New Post CONSUMPTION
Area Planted 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mandates are applied to all types of diesel use as
fuel and the blending of biodiesel among petroleum
Area Harvested 690 710 710 735 0 750
refineries is strictly controlled and monitored.
Trees 0 0 0 0 0 0 In general, the main markets for diesel use in
Beginning Stocks 78 78 52 228 0 228 Thailand are on-road, accounting for about 60% of
total diesel consumption, followed by agriculture
Production 1,800 2,070 2,200 2,100 0 2,300 at 20%, industry 17%, and others 3%, respectively.
MY Imports 75 75 20 30 0 20 However, due to weather irregularities leading to
inadequate palm oil feedstocks and with controls
MY Imp. from US 0 0 0 0 0 0 on imports, the government is forced to reduce
MY Imp. from EU 0 0 0 0 0 0 mandatory blending rates from time to time. For
Total Supply 1,953 2,223 2,272 2,358 0 1,548 example, reduced CPO supplies and skyrocketing
prices in early 2015 prompted decision-makers
MY Exports 51 95 150 120 0 160 to temporarily lower the mandatory vegetable oil
MY Exp. to EU 0 0 0 0 0 0 content requirement in biodiesel by 50% to B3.5
from B7 in January 2015, and then reinstated B7
Industrial Dom. 1,280 1,280 1,350 1,350 0 1,450 mandates in April 2015. Due to this development,
Cons. the actual blending rates of biodiesel in diesel total
Food Use Dom. 500 550 570 580 0 600 use was 5.8%.
Cons. Although the government’s policy is to maintain
its B7 mandates in 2016 and 2017, in addition to its
Feed Waste Dom. 70 70 70 80 0 100
plan to subsidise the use of B20 in large trucks on
Cons.
a voluntary basis, beginning in 2016, the blending
Total Dom. Cons. 1,850 1,900 1,990 2,010 0 2,150 rates of biodiesel in diesel are estimated at around
Ending Stocks 52 228 132 228 0 238 5.7% in 2016 and 6.14% in 2017, given possible
step-downs in biodiesel mandates at any time
Total Distribution 1,953 2,223 2,272 2,358 0 2,548 following weather-vulnerable palm oil supplies. The

26 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

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 BIOFU ELS

TABLE 3: LIST OF OPERATING B100 PRODUCERS IN THAILAND
Company Capacity (M litres/annum)
Bangchak Petroleum
Pure Energy
Patum Vegetable Oil
B. Grimm Green Power
A.I. Energy
Veera Suwan
Global Green Chemical *
New Biodiesel
Absolute Power P
Bangchak Biofuel
Total
* originally called Thai Oleochemicals Co.
government lowered B7 mandates to B5, effective
on 25 July 2016 because palm oil supplies appeared
to be lower than earlier estimates.
A sharp reduction in global petroleum prices
also generated changes in consumer demand for
products such as diesel and gasoline versus the
highly subsidised products like liquid petroleum gas
(LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG).
Not only did low diesel prices encourage diesel
vehicle users (mainly trucks or trailers) to switch to
diesel from CNG, but it also stimulated increased
use of diesel among smaller vehicles (i.e. pick-up
trucks). Lower prices for diesel (which contains
Feedstock type
16 CPO, RBDPO
264 Palm Stearin, CPO
462 CPO, RBDPO, Stearin
66 CPO, RBDPO, Stearin
165 Palm Stearin
66 Palm Stearin, RBDPO
CPO, RBDPO
330 CPO, RBDPO, Stearin, FFA
99 CPO, RBDPO, Stearin
264 CPO, Stearin
2,062
biodiesel) also led diesel use for other sectors
(agriculture, construction and manufacturing
industries) to increase in 2015. Total diesel sales
were officially reported as increasing by 4% in 2015
to 21.9bn litres. Prevailing low prices are expected
to drive biodiesel consumption up 4% in 2016 and
2% in 2017.
Based on this diesel market development and
the fact that the mandate of biodiesel blending in
diesel is applied to all types of diesel use, biodiesel
consumption rose to 1.230bn litres in 2015, and
should continue to grow to 1.3 bn litres in 2016
and 1.42bn litres 2017, respectively.
TRADE & ENDING STOCKS
The Thai government restricts the import of
biodiesel to protect domestic palm growers.
Thailand’s biodiesel imports and exports are
minimal and mostly belong to petroleum oils
containing up to 30% biodiesel (HTS Chapter 27).
Exports of biodiesel (B100 equivalent) were 3.12M
litres in 2015, as compared to 3.86M litres in 2014.
Imports of biodiesel products (B100 equivalent)
totalled 2.13M lites, as compared to 11.57M litres
in 2014.
Biodiesel production is driven solely by contracts
between palm oil growers and refineries. As a result,
the country’s B100 stocks, held by either biodiesel
producers or petroleum oil refineries, are quite low
– somewhere around 20-50M litres or about 10-15
days of utilisation.
ADVANCED BIOFUELS
There has been no progress in promoting advanced
biofuels, and the potential for progress is further
limited due to sharply weaker global prices for
petroleum products. A molasses-based ethanol
plant using cane bagasse for cellulosic ethanol has
stalled due to a lack of commercial feasibility. The
production of hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO),
a type of renewable drop-in diesel, is no longer
commercialised due to its high production cost
without additional subsidu from the government. 
This feature is extracted from a United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Global
Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report
published on 22 July 2016, titled ‘Thailand Biofuels
Annual 2016’

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27 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

Thailand biodiesel.indd 4 01/11/2016 09:10

 SH OW PREVIEW

IMAGE: ADOBE STOCK

MUMBAI IS INDIA’S COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL CAPITAL AND THE HOST CITY OF OFI INDIA 2017

OFI India 2017 comes to Mumbai OFI India returns to the world’s largest edible oil market for the
Book a stand second time on 7-8 April 2017 in Mumbai, with an international
Exhibition & sponsorship exhibition of suppliers to the industry, and business and technical
Mark Winthrop-Wallace, Sales Manager conferences featuring global and regional experts in their fields

E-mail: markww@quartzltd.com
Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855 114
Anita Revis, Sales Consultant
E-mail: anitarevis@quartzltd.com
Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855 068
Nikunj Vishwakarma, India Sales Executive
E-mail: nikunj@quartzltd.com
Tel: +91 67351022; +93 73517070
Erik Heath, Chinese Sales Executive
E-mail: erikheath@quartzltd.com
Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855 108
W
ith the success of the first
OFI India event in Hyderabad
this April, the show’s organisers
are delighted to return to
India by hosting OFI 2017
at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition
Centre (BCEC) in Mumbai on 7-8 April 2017.
OFI India 2016 attracted over 600 attendees
and OFI India 2017 promises to be bigger and
better, bringing together business, science and
technology all under one roof. It will feature:
 An international exhibition of suppliers,
producers and processors
 The OFI India 2017 Business Congress & SOPA
modules will cover ‘World Supply and Demand
– 2017/18 Price Forecast and Outlook’; ‘The
Indian Market – Challenges and Opportunties’;
‘SOPA Soya Conference’; and ‘Feedstocks and
Applications’.
Key issues such as world supply and demand
factors; India’s burgoening edible oil imports;
biotechnology, oilseed productivity and global
and domestic feedstocks such as castor and rice
bran oil will all be addressed.
A parallel two-day Smart Short Course technical
programme will be held for marketing, technical
and plant personnel, entitled ‘Advanced Extraction,
Processing and Use of Sunflower, Cottonseed,

Present a paper Soya Conference: ‘New Strategies, New

Approaches’
 A Smart Short Course technical programme:
Soyabean, Canola and Palm Oil’.

The Indian market

OFI India 2017 Business Conference ‘Advanced Extraction, Processing and Use of
To present a paper, contact: Serena Lim, Sunflower, Cottonseed, Canola and Palm Oil’
Editor, Oils & Fats International (OFI)
E-mail: serenalim@quartzltd.com Learn from the experts
The two-day OFI India 2017 Business Congress
www.ofievents.com/india & SOPA Soya Conference will offer delegates the
chance to learn from leaders in their fields. Four
28 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com
India is the world’s largest edible oil importer and
the second most populous nation in the world, with
over 1.2bn people. It imports some 15M tonnes/
year of edible oil – some 70% of the country’s
requirements – against domestic production of
7-8M tonnes (see Table 1, following page).
With the country projected to need some 30M 

India 2017 preview .indd 1 01/11/2016 11:03

 Special Digital Issue

Focus on India
Download the OFI Digital
Digital Only edition:

www.ofimagazine.com/
issues/view/ofi-
september-digital-edition

29 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

OFI November-December p29_taiko-house-sharplex.indd 29 26/10/2016 16:40

 SH OW PREVIEW

 tonnes of edible oils in 10 years’ time and increases TABLE 1: INDIA EDIBLE OIL SUPPLY/DEMAND 2015/16 AND PROJECTION 2016/17 (M TONNES)

TABLES: GGN INTERNATIONAL

in population and lifestyle changes driving a rise in
edible oil consumption, interest is strong in this Oil 2015/16 2016/17 +/- in 2016/17 against 2015/16
growing market. Opening stock 2.370 1.960 - 0.410
Palm oil remains the most widely consumed oil in
India due to its blending versatility with other oils Domestic production 5.820 6.960 1.140
and competitive price (see Table 2, right). Palm oil’s Total 8.190 8.920 0.730
food use consumption in India was expected to rise
Consumption (-) 20.620 22.150 1.340
to 9.2M tonnes in 2014/15, against 3.2M tonnes for
soyabean oil and 2.6M tonnes for rapeseed oil. Deficit 12.620 13.230 0.610
With its widespread area and population, Closing stock (+) 1.960 2.250 0.290
regional preferences exist for edible oil within India.
Coconut, peanut and sunflower oils are popular in Import required – edible oils 14.580 15.480 0.900
south India; peanut and cottonseed oil in Gujarat Non-edible oil import may be about 0.2M tonnes
and Maharashtra; rapeseed oil in the northeast and
northwest; soyabean oil in central India; and rice
bran oil in eastern India. TABLE 2: INDIA’S IMPORT BREAK-UP FOR 2015/16 AND 2016/17 (M TONNES)
Vegetable oil imports enter India via eight 2015/16 2016/17
important ports – Mumbai and Kandla in the
western region; Mangalore and Cochin in the south- Oil Oct-Sept Nov-Oct Oct-Sept Nov-Oct
west; Chennai, Kakinada and Vizag in the south- Palm (edible) 8.765 8.474 9.175 9.235
east; and Calcutta in the eastern region.
Soyabean oil 4.381 4.190 4.185 4.200
Mumbai – India’s commercial centre Sunflowerseed oil 1.555 1.548 1.710 1.740
Rapeseed oil 0.356 0.375 0.310 0.300
The Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre
(BCEC) is the largest permanent exhibition centre Total 15.057 14.587 15.380 15.475
in the private sector in India. The centre is ideally
situated along the Western Express Highway in
Goregaon, within 10 minutes from Mumbai’s OFI India 2017 Business Congress & SOPA Soya Conference
airports, walking distance to train stations and a 20
minute drive from the heart of the city. There are ‘New Strategies – New Approaches’
numerous hotels, entertainment activities, retail
shopping and sightseeing spots in close proximity. DAY ONE: FRIDAY 7 April 2017
Mumbai is situated on the west coast of the Indian
peninsula and its superb natural harbor provided Module 1: World Supply and Demand – 2017/18 Price Forecast and Outlook
a focal point for sea routes crossing the Arabian
Sea, and Mumbai soon became the main western James Fry, Chairman, LMC International, UK
gateway to Britain’s expanding Indian empire. The
city emerged as a centre of manufacturing and G Chandrashekhar, Economic Advisor, Indian Merchants’ Chamber
industry during the eighteenth century. Today,
Mumbai is India’s commercial and financial capital. Sumit Gupta, Business Manager, McDonald & Pelz Global Commodities
Mumbai has a variety of major attractions
including the rock-cut temples of Elephanta Island Module 2: The Indian Market – Challenges and Opportunities
in Mumbai Harbour; the Gateway of India arch; Presentations on Indian production, exports, supply & demand trends, logistics,
Crawford Market, the bazaars of Kalbadevi and biofuel policies, castor oil, rice bran oil
Bhuleshwar; the Parsi Towers of Silence; and Haji
Ali’s Mosque. DAY TWO: SATURDAY 8 APRIL 2017

Industry support Module 3: Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA) Soya Conference

OFI India 2017 is also supported by the main
edible oils and fats associations in India including
the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA);
Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA);
Oil Technlogists’ Association of India (OTAI); CSIR-
Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT)
and also the Federation of Oils, Seeds and Fats
Associations Ltd (FOSFA). 
Dr Davish Jain, Chairman, Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA); President and
Managing Director, Prestige Group of Industries, India
D N Pathak, Executive Director, Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA)
Module 4: Feedstocks and Applications
Sergey Feofilov, General Director, UkrAgroConsult, Ukraine
Presentations on palm, sunflower and other oilseeds and oils

Supported by:
Smart Short Course: ‘Advanced Extraction, Processing and Use of
Sunflower, Cottonseed, Soyabean, Canola and Palm Oil’
7-8 APRIL 2017
More details to be announced shortly

If you require more information, please contact Ignace Debruyne on info@smartshortcourses.

com or Sefa Koseoglu on sefa.koseoglu@membraneworld.com

30 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER www.ofimagazine.com

India 2017 preview .indd 2 01/11/2016 11:03

 OFI INDIA 2017
Provides the platform to
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in the fastest growing global
OILS & FATS INTERNATIONAL edible oil market
INDIA 2017
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 I N SPEC TION & TESTIN G

The international oils and fats

sector is receiving increasingly
integrated guidance from
standards bodies such as the
International Organization for
Standardization (ISO).
Keith Nuthall writes

T
he oils and fats industry has always been
international, with its commodities
and the products made from them,
being traded worldwide. As a result,
the companies involved have always
had to pay attention not just to the regulations
of the country where they manufacture or source,
but those of importing and transit countries.
Sometimes, these mesh and sometimes they
conflict – but a successful oils and fats business will
always be aware of what industrial, health, customs,
packaging, pollution and design rules and guidance
it must follow. Fortunately, the world’s industrial
standards development systems are increasingly
integrated, with global and regional standards
being created with the clear goal of creating a
unified set of technical rules and best practice that
international traders can follow with confidence.
There are of course a wide range of sources and
authorities for these – some rules are mandatory,
some optional. Some standards are framed to help
companies comply with rules and international
good practice at the same time.
Take the standards of the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO). It has
produced a wide range of standards for the oils and
fats industry that seek to have global application.

Setting a standard
These are voluntary, but they are detailed. Often
standards released by ISO are adopted, sometimes
in amended form, by regional and national
standards bodies, so they can be very influential.

Role of the ISO subcommittee

The key work in ISO is undertaken by technical
committees (TCs), who have ongoing work
programmes. For the oils and fats sector, the
most important is a subcommittee – ISO/TC 34/
SC 11 on animal and vegetable fats and oils. It has
developed and released 84 standards that can guide
the industry in good practice. These cover such
diverse subjects as determining refractive indexes,
measuring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,
examining aliphatic hydrocarbons in vegetable
oils, assessing water content in oils and fats and
determining cocoa butter equivalents in milk
chocolate. The sub-committee is in the process of
creating new standards – such as on the preparation
of methyl esters of fatty acids and determination of
insoluble impurities content. It is also updating
some existing standards, such as on refractive
indexes and water content.
Another key ISO sub-committee for the oils
and fats sector is ISO/TC 34/SC 2 on oleaginous
seeds and fruits and oilseed meals. It has released
24 standards, on subjects ranging from sampling,
to determining oil content, oil acidity, impurities,
moisture and volatile content, as well as preparing
test samples, measuring total hexane residues
and glucosinolates content. It is preparing a new
standard on manual or automatic discontinuous
sampling and updating standards on ash content,
moisture and volatile materials. One technical
committee with importance for a segment of the
industry is ISO/TC 54 on essential oils whose
standards include issues such as determining
ester values and miscibility in ethanol, as well
as manufacturing specific types of essential oils
including those made from juniper berries, caraway,
oranges and lemons. And another is ISO/TC 122 on
packaging, including standards on RFID tags (radio
frequency identification), recycled plastics and
freight containers.
National standards bodies
National standards bodies often adopt or use ISO
standards to develop their own local standards
because technical committees are staffed by
national standards representatives. This can be
good news, if their governments use local standards
as the basis of local legislation on how a product
should be made, sold and packaged. Of course,
the larger the economy and market, the more
important and influential is the local national
standard. The USA and Japan, especially, have well-
established standards-setting bodies with a track
record of going their own way.
The American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) takes a relatively hands-off approach – it has
accredited 200 standards developers representing
approximately 200 organisations in the private
and public sectors. ANSI runs a liaison and appeals
system enabling these developers to negotiate
US standards. Some ANSI standards are based on
ISO work, but others are not. For example, ASME
(American Society of Mechanical Engineers) has
developed an ANSI-approved standard on fats, oils,
and greases disposal systems; and the American
Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) has developed a
standard on the flavour chemistry of fats and oils.
By contrast, the Pennsylvania-based ASTM develops
its own standards for American and global use,
which are also of use to the oils and fats sector – for
instance ASTM E1690 - 08(2016) on a test method
for determination of ethanol extractives in biomass
and ASTM E3050 – 16 on denatured ethanol for use
as cooking and appliance fuel.
The Japanese Standards Association (JSA)
is another well-financed and proactive national

32 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

global oils and fats standards.indd 1 01/11/2016 09:07

 I N SPE CTI O N & T E STI NG

Clean and efficient

vacuum systems
for refining and deodorising

ICE
Ice condensation

ACL
Alkaline Closed Loop

IMAGE: ARGUS/ADOBE STOCK

standards body that the oils and fats sector needs to take account of, especially
if companies want to work or trade in Japan. Examples include standard JIS
K 3331:2009 on hardened oils and fatty acids for industrial use and JIS K
6503:2001 on animal glues and gelatins.
BSI, the British Standards Institute, is another prolific national standard
setter, also releasing plenty of relevant oils and fats sector standards – for
instance BS EN 14105:2003 on determining free and total glycerol and mono-,
di-, triglyceride contents in fat and oil derivatives. In addition, each of Britain’s
(for the time being) European Union partner member states have their own
national standard setting organisations with influence over how industry
operates in their countries, such as Association Française de Normalisation
(AFNOR) in France, and Germany’s Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN).
These European standards organisations also pay heed to ISO work and
base many of their standards on these texts, but they also work with and are
influenced by the CEN, the European standards body (Comité Européen de
Normalisation) that develops standards for its 33 member states. This includes
all 28 EU member countries, along with Macedonia, Turkey, Iceland, Norway
and Switzerland. Its goal is to ensure standards are harmonised within Europe,
promoting trade.
Whilst the way it operates is controlled by an EU law (regulation (EU) No
1025/2012), EU and CEN membership are not co-terminus – so a Brexited
Britain could remain a member. Therefore, CEN standards (with the CE mark)
could retain their current influence, having been approved and developed by
representatives of its national standards organisation members. This extends
to the oils and fats sector – for instance CEN has 83 standards with direct and
specific relevance to fats. All but two of these have reference to related ISO
standards, however, and this reflects the ISO-CEN Vienna Agreement, where the
bodies agreed to work together to ensure their standards were complementary.
This accepted the key tenet that while complex industries such as the oils and
fats sector can draw on many good practice solutions, it helps international
trade if this practical guidance does not offer overly conflicting advice.
Keith Nuthall is a freelance writer

www.koerting.de
33 OFI – www.ofimagazine.com
+49 511 2129-253 · st@koerting.de

global oils and fats standards.indd 2 01/11/2016 09:07

 I NSPE CTION , TESTIN G & C ER TIFIC ATION
Inspection and testing round-up
IN BRIEF
JAPAN: Toyota Motor Corporation has
developed a new deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA) analysis technology called
Genotyping by Random Amplicon
Sequencing (GRAS), which is capable
of improving the efficiency of identifying
and selecting useful genetic
information for agricultural plant
improvement, the company announced
in September.
According to Toyota, the technology
should lead to time and cost savings
in the agricultural plant improvement
process.
Proprietary sample preparation
technology was paired with a next-
generation sequencer to develop the
technology. GRAS could analyse DNA
at one-tenth of the time needed and
at one-third of the cost of conventional
techniques.
The technology had the potential to
boost sugarcane production and increase
biofuel crop yields, and could also help
increase disease resistance in food crops,
Toyota said.
USA: Shimadzu Scientific Instruments
released a new compact bioethanol
analyser, an advanced tool for real-time
monitoring of the fermentation process
in bioethanol production, it announced in
September.
The analyser monitors in real-time,
which allows controllers in charge of the
process to take quick action in the event
of an issue arising.
In addition, the analyser can be remotely
monitored via the I-Series Web interface
or LabSolutions Direct to view instrument
status and chromatogram information.
All analyses are performed using
state-of-the-art instruments and
technology to ensure the lowest
detection limits.
TLR is your one stop shop for all
services in food/feed safety
control!
For more information:
www.tlr-international.com
T +31 10 282 32 92
E info@tlr.nl
34 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com
Inspection & testing v2.indd 1
Oils & Fats International reports on some of the latest news and
de elop ents surrounding inspection testing and certification
around the world
OmegaVeritas test for omega-3 authenticity
N
orwegian omega-3 traceability and testing company OmegaVeritas outlined its work to authenticate
both the species and geographical source of oils containing omega-3 fatty acids at the Global
Organisation for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED) Exchange event in February, Lipid Technology reported.
OmegaVeritas had almost completed its work, which uses Specific Natural Isotape Fractionation Nuclear
Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (SNIF-NMR) in its authentication process. SNIF-NMR is usually used to
analyse wine, fruit juice, maple syrup and vanillin.
The relative amounts and distributions of isotopes of carbon, hydrogen, phosphorous and other elements
can act as a “fingerprint” to pinpoint the biochemical pathway and geographical source, the report said.
OmegaVeritas uses hydrogen and carbon isotope ratios for fish oil verification and also phosphorous
ratios to test krill oil.
It is hoped that the technique will give greater traceability and could also be used to confirm claims of
sustainable fishing practices.
Grain testing facility operated facility in the area, and would save
farmers sending their samples across the
opened in Ontario country to be tested. Being able to test
in Ontario would speed up the process of
receiving results.
A private testing facility for cereal grains
has opened in Guelph, Ontario, thanks to
an investment partnership between the Grain
Mackellar told CBC that the fee for using
the facilities would be comparable with others
in the country.
Farmers of Ontario and SGS Canada, CBC
News said in July.
Nicole Mackellar, manager of market
development for the Grain Farmers of Ontario
said the organisation had been working
on the project for the past year and a half
“and we are very happy to say that it is fully
operational”.
“Being able to have these test done, to
have that quality information that we can
then show to the industry to show that we
are producing high quality products, will let
Ontario become a leader in both global and
domestic markets”, Mackellar added.
The lab in Guelph is the first privately
Analyse this!
26/10/2016 12:13
 I NSPE CTION , TESTIN G & C ER TIFIC ATION

UPM Biofuels acquires ISCC PLUS certification

Standard supports
U PM Biofuels announced in April that it has
extended its sustainability certification to
cover all its output streams at the Lappeenranta
residues that have applications in the chemical
industry. For example, renewable turpentine can be
used to produce bio-based aroma chemicals for the ‘No GE’ in USA
biorefinery in Finland. The certification is under fragrance industry.
the International Sustainability and Carbon
Certification Scheme ISCC PLUS.
ISCC PLUS is a sustainability certification
scheme for bio-based applications and covers A new standard has been developed
by SGS, the No GE Ingredient Supply
Chain Process Verification Standard (US
The biorefinery mainly produces UPM’s wood- sustainability and traceability criteria – similar to
based renewable diesel BioVerno, as well as a the biofuel specific ISCC-EU scheme. Version), to help support companies
smaller share of naphtha – used as a biocomponent Sari Mannonen, sales and marketing director claiming to be using no genetically
in petrol. at UPM Biofuels said: “The new ISCC PLUS modified organisms in their food
Previously, the biorefinery was covered by certification complements UPM’s existing biofuel products.
sustainability certifications to use the renewable specific sustainability portfolio to cover new SGS announced the new standard in
fuels in transport, but the new ISCC PLUS potential bio-based market segments and their June, and said consumers in the USA
certification allows them to be used as feedstocks requirements. There is a growing need for certified are increasingly aware of issues
for producing other products such as bioplastics. renewable fuels and chemicals, for example in impacting their food, and want to
In addition to BioVerno and naphtha, the the biochemical and bioplastics industries which know more. This included the use of
Lappeenranta biorefinery has output streams of are seeking replacements for fossil usage in their GMOs and genetically engineered (GE)
turpentine, pitch and sodium bisulphite, biofuel processes and end use”. ingredients.
The standard was developed with
guidance from the Food and Drug
SGS expands crop quality map service (GOHM) Administration and the US Department of
Agriculture, and it also considered federal
S GS’s Grain and Oilseeds Harvest Mapping (GOHM) has been
launched in Germany, the company announced in June.
The service gives everyone in the agri-supply chain an overview of the
and state guidance, and proposed and
passed laws.
The standard was available to
quality of harvested crops and provides an indicator, which could impact
operators in the USA and their suppliers
the market. The maps contain data either provided by farming operators
for the US market.
or collected by SGS inspectors and project teams. In particular it can be
Outside the USA, SGS’s Non GMO
used to monitor the harvest of wheat, barley and rapeseed.
Supply Chain Standard is used in the EU
From this information, interactive maps can be created showing the
and is based on the EU’s Directive and
quality and development of crops across Germany. This would allow
legal framework, SGS said.
traders and brokers to plan their purchases much earlier, SGS said.

SGS Indonesia accredited to

conduct RSPO certification Easy oil, water & solid fat analysis

A ccreditation Services International (ASI) has confirmed SGS Indonesia’s using the MQC benchtop analyser
accreditation to conduct Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
certification. Breeding:
Crop Value:
measure oil &
SGS Indonesia completed the full verification process, which included optimise oil moisture using
desktop reviews, office and on-site assessments, it said. SGS Indonesia’s RSPO content in seeds ISO 10565 method
accreditation covers both Supply Chain Certification Systems (SCCS) and
Principles & Criteria (P&C) certification worldwide.
Aryo Gustomo, SGS RSPO Accreditation Manager said, “We’ll strive to
exceed the expectations of all stakeholders, RSPO, ASI and our certification
holders through good technical governance and efficient management of the
scheme.”
SGS manages RSPO audits to verify that production processes comply with
the RSPO P&C for sustainable palm oil production, as well as supply chain
audits to prevent overselling and the mixing of sustainable and non-sustainable
palm oil.

DNA research revolution for palm Refining/Quality Control:

measure melting profiles
Crushing/Extraction:
maximise efficiency by
measuring oil & moisture

A merican biotech company Orion Genomics has produced a test for oil of oils, fats & blends to content of residue
international standards
palms that will determine what the eventual shell thickness of the fruit
will be, Cosmetics Design reported in August. The test could revolutionise the
productivity of the palm oil industry it said.
To conduct the test, farmers would use a plastic punch to take a small
sample from the leaf of a young potted tree. These samples would be sent to
Orion and each plant’s DNA tested. The company then reports back to the
Contact us for a quotation
growers on which plants will produce thick, thin or no shell fruits. Growers
email industrial@oxinst.com
would use the data to plant out only those high-yielding plants.
www.oxford-instruments.com/oilseeds
President and CEO of Orion Genomics Nate Lakey told BBC News in May,
“Millions and millions of subsistence farmers depend on oil from cultivation
3887

for their economic livelihood and by increasing production in their farms we

increase their economic opportunities”.

35 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

Inspection & testing v2.indd 2 26/10/2016 12:13


All American taste
US food manufacturers have
until to re o e artificial
trans fats from their products.
This is likely to increase the use
of palm oil in food products,
according to Manik Mehta,
who gives an overview of the
US oils and fats sector and the
increasing popularity of olive oil
among American consumers
P
alm oil is likely to benefit from the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s
ruling in June 2015 to ban the use of
partially hydrogenated vegetable oil – the
main source of artificial trans fats – in
processed foods.
Food manufacturers have three years to comply
with the ruling and remove all artificial trans fats
from their products.
Companies have already turned to palm oil
following mandatory trans fat labelling in 2006
as, unlike most vegetable oils, it is a solid at room
temperature.
36 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com
US suppliers.indd 1
U S SU PPLIERS
Palm oil imports into the USA have grown
dramatically since the early 2000s, when many
companies began to restrict use of trans fats and
thus partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
In 2012, the USA imported around seven times
as much palm oil as it had in 1999.
According to Bloomberg, the size of the US palm-
oil market is about 2.6bn lbs (1,179M tonnes)
and is expected to increase by 500M lbs (226,796
tonnes) a year.
However, palm oil does suffer from an image
problem, with its association with deforestation in
Southeast Asia, and its high degree of saturated fat,
which has implications for health.
US-based interest groups say that there is
growing demand for healthier oils in the US market,
such as olive oil and sunflower oil, with consumers
showing a preference for healthier categories of
olive oil, particularly extra virgin olive oil.
America is, after the Asia Pacific region, the
world’s second largest market for oil and fats, with
the vegetable oil segment increasing its market
share, including a steady increase in olive oil
consumption.
The world’s vegetable oil suppliers are eyeing the
US market. This was also evident at the recent New
York Fancy Food Show (NYFFS) 2016, which had a
massive turnout of suppliers of all kinds of vegetable
oils, particularly olive, canola and coconut oils.
Italians, Spaniards, Turks, Greeks, Moroccans and
Tunisians occupied rows of exhibition booths.
Italian olive suppliers have been monitoring
the changing food habits of Americans as the
latter try out other competing oils as part of their
cuisine. Sunflower’s popularity has also risen,
with the American Heart Association nutritionists
categorising sunflower oil – rich in unsaturated fats,
particularly oleic and linoleic acids, minerals and
vitamin E – as an excellent antioxidant.
Olive oil popularity continues
Nevertheless, olive oil continues to be popular
among American consumers, as many Italian
exhibitors at the NYFFS said.
“Although shoppers are still cautious today, they
have become increasingly selective and seek more
information. A growth opportunity for the olive
oil market could come from educating American
consumers to use olive oil in different dishes,” says
Carlo Peruzzi, who operates an export company
outside Rome specialising in olive oil.
However, Italian suppliers have also suffered
because a “few bad apples” in the industry
engaged in fraud in the olive oil sector, according
to US television shows, including the highly-rated
“60 Minutes”. But most Italian suppliers say that
committing fraud with the consumers was “highly
unlikely to happen again” and that this may
have happened in the past because the smaller
unscrupulous producers who offer unbranded
products, had little or no controls. Established
brands, as a rule, have too much to lose to become
reckless and destroy their business.
Volpicelli, a medium-sized company producing 
26/10/2016 14:53
OFI November-December p37_IPOC.indd 37 26/10/2016 14:47

 extra virgin olive oil, is based in Segni near Rome.
The owner, Pietro Volpicelli (pictured below), says
that his company has its own cultivation, crushing,
processing and bottling operations.
“The USA is an interesting market. Italian olive
oil is different from products from other regions,”
Volpicelli says in an interview with Oils & Fats
International at the NYFFS while emphasising
that Italian olive oil was known for its quality.
Acknowledging that he faces competition from
low-end suppliers, he claims that buyers appreciate
his quality oil and have given him orders at the
show.
Turkish olive oil
Turkish exhibitors at the NYFFS expressed keen
interest to increase their exports to the US market,
forced by the “new normal” facing Turkey, which
has lost a number of markets such as Syria, Iraq and
Russia because of political issues.
Cem Demirci, foreign trade manager of
Poyrazcan Gida Tarim Turz in Izmir, which
produces the Poyraz brand of extra virgin, virgin
and pure olive oil, describes the US market as “very
attractive”. “Every year, US olive oil consumption
has been growing. The USA, one of the world’s
biggest importers of olive oil, is a very important
market for Turkish olive oil suppliers”, Demirci says
in an interview in New York.
He says that this is also the reason why his
company – as also many other Turkish suppliers –
regularly attends the NYFFS, which attracts many
North American importers of olive oil. Indeed,
he adds, the NYFFS’s attractiveness as a meeting
ground for buyers and sellers of olive oil has
increased for Turkish suppliers. The Mediterranean
region, including Turkey, supplies some 95% of
the world’s olive oil, Demirci says, adding that
Mediterranean olive oil has less acidity and a
different aroma, which appeals to the American
consumer.
Although olive oil exports account for only 1%
of Turkey’s total exports, they are important, in
value terms, for Turkey’s economy. The country’s
olive oil production exceeded the actual domestic
consumption and, hence, the over-capacity had to
be exported.
Another Turkish company, Mehmet Hakan Kaleli
LOUISE KRAMER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR OF THE US
SPECIALTY FOOD ASSOCIATION
38 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com
US suppliers.indd 2
U S SU PPLIERS
of Bursa, which produces the Beyzade brand of suppliers or producers of oils used, for example, in
extra virgin, organic virgin and low-acidity olive oil, salads”, Haight says.
claims that it uses olives picked in the early stage of Louise Kramer, communications director of the
the harvest. “Sometimes, we buy the olive fruit and, US Specialty Food Association (pictured below),
sometimes, we buy oils already crushed and further agrees that olive oil reigns supreme. “People are
process and bottle them. We buy both olives and increasingly aware about the properties of olive
olive oil,” Mehmet Kaleli, the company’s general oil, but this also applies to coconut oil, canola and
manager, explains. rapeseed oil. Because of past controversy about
The company exports about 85% of its olive oil’s purity, buyers are now more cautious
production, mainly to China but also to the Middle about the purity of any oil. However, olive oil still
East and Asia. “We have just begun exporting to the remains very popular,” she tells OFI. 
USA,” Kaleli says, adding that the USA is a large Manik Mehta is a freelance writer based in New York
consuming market, which absorbs some 80% of the
company’s extra virgin olive oil exports.
Kaleli says that while Italian products are well-
known in the USA, American buyers are now also
sourcing from Turkey. “The consumers’ growing
health consciousness and olive oil’s health benefits
have increased demand for the oil,” he explains.
Davut Er, chairman of the Izmir-based Aegean
Olive and Olive Oil Exporters’ Association
(AOOOEA), says that his association member
companies account for some 170M olive producing
trees, the second largest olive tree population.
AOOOEA’s production target for 2020 is 400,000
tonnes of olive oil and one million tonnes of
olives, depending on climate. “This is the estimate
provided by the Turkish Agricultural Ministry. The
current production level is between 150,000 and
200,000 tonnes. Climate conditions have reduced
our production from 300,000 tonnes in 2007”, Er
says.
“High-income consumers in the USA are buying
olive oil … these consumers are health-conscious.
Olive oil’s nutritional values are appreciated in the
USA. Turkish olive oil exports have also increased
with the Turkish Lira’s depreciation”, Er says.
Kevin Haight, an ‘oil artisan’ at the Hudson Valley
Cold Press Oils of Poughkeepsie, New York, which
manufactures sunflower oil noted for its high oleic
content, told OFI that demand for oils in the USA
is huge.
“However, unless oils are cold pressed, they
are not considered to be healthy. Our main
buyers are restaurants and grocery stores. The
American consumers have become discriminating
in their choice of oil, preferring high-quality oil.
Restaurants are required to list nutritional facts
about the food they serve, with some even naming
PIETRO VOLPICELLI, OWNER OF ITALIAN OLIVE OIL PRODUCER
VOLPICELLI
26/10/2016 14:53
OFI November-December p38_poc malaysia.indd 38 26/10/2016 15:28
 STATISTIC S

SOYABEAN OIL PRICES ROTTERDAM (EU€/TONNE)

STATISTICAL NEWS FROM MINTEC

Soyabean oil
Soyabean oil prices in the EU have generally been on an
uptrend in 2016 supported by production concerns of
alternative vegetable oils, namely palm oil and rapeseed
oil. Global production of soyabean oil in 2016/17 is
forecast to reach a record 53.8M tonnes, up 3% year-on-
year. Consumption is forecast to be up by 3% year-on-year
to 53.2M tonnes and ending stocks are to fall by 3% year-
on-year to 3.6M tonnes.

RAPESEED OIL PRICES ROTTERDAM (EU€/TONNE)
Rapeseed oil
Prices in the EU increased due to lower annual production
of rapeseed, although increases were limited in the first
half of 2016 by lower biofuel demand offsetting the
increase in food consumption and Canada’s continued
high production and exports. Global production of
rapeseed oil in 2016/17 is forecast at 26.8M tonnes,
down 3% year-on-year. Consumption is forecast to exceed
production at 27.7M tonnes, down 1% year-on-year.
Consequently ending stocks are estimated to fall 18%
year-on-year to 4.2M tonnes.

Sunflower and maize oil

SUNFLOWER AND CORN OIL PRICES EUROPE (US$/TONNE)
Prices for both sunflower and maize oil have been under
pressure compared to other vegetable oils, as production
for both sunflowerseed and maize are expected to reach
record highs. Sunflower oil production in 2016/17 is
forecast at 16.7M tonnes, up 10% year-on-year. Maize oil
production in 2015/16 is estimated at 3.4M tonnes, up
7% year-on-year.

Mintec works in partnership

PRICES OF SELECTED OILS (US$/TONNE) with sales, purchasing and
supply chain professionals
2014 2015 July 16 Aug 16 Sept 16 Oct 16
to deliver valuable insight
into worldwide commodity
Soyabean 897 765 772 809 827 830
Crude Palm 825 676 628 688 712 688 and raw materials markets
Palm Olein 762 650 595 660 678 653 using innovative technology
Coconut 1,276 1,358 1,441 1,500 1,514 1,412 and a knowledgeable team of specialists. We provide
Rapeseed 906 787 763 811 840 860 independent insight and trusted data to help the world’s
Sunflower 905 853 790 811 818 811 most prestigious brands to make informed commercial
Palm Kernel 1,120 1,116 1,214 1,329 1,375 1,242 decisions.

Tel: +44 (0) 1628 851313

Average price 956 887 886 944 966 928 E-mail: sales@mintecglobal.com
INDEX 226 210 210 224 229 220 Website: www.mintecglobal.com

40 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 www.ofimagazine.com

Statistics.indd 1 26/10/2016 14:53

 The best way to
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This is how to get the best out of oilseeds.

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OFI November-December OBC_buhler.indd 1 26/10/2016 08:42