2020 EU biodiesel production remains stable, consumption down 6%
July 27, 2020
BY Ron Kotrba
An annual biofuels report filed with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network discusses the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have on biofuel use and production in the European Union.
The report indicates the COVID-19 outbreak is expected cut petroleum transportation fuel use by approximately 12 percent in the EU. Ethanol and biodiesel consumption are expected to fall by 10 percent and 6 percent, respectively.
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Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, EU biofuel consumption was up for both ethanol and biodiesel. The rise in ethanol consumption, however, was low at 1.4 percent, with use last year barely up from 2011 consumption levels. Consumption of biodiesel and renewable diesel was up 6.4 percent last year.
Due to COVID-19-related market impacts, consumption of biodiesel and renewable diesel is expected to fall by 6 percent or approximately 301 million gallons in 2020, from an expected 4.76 billion gallons this year compared to nearly 5.06 billion gallons last year.
The blend rate for biodiesel and renewable diesel is expected to be 7.1 percent this year, up from 6.7 percent in 2019.
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Total EU biodiesel and renewable diesel production for 2020 is expected to remain relatively stable compared to 2019 at approximately 4.2 billion gallons, off just slightly from 4.25 billion gallons last year.
The EU’s biodiesel and renewable diesel imports are expected to reach approximately 660 million gallons this year compared to roughly 960 million gallons in 2019.
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