German biodiesel exports up this year; EU countries absorb most
German biodiesel exports have rocketed this year. The German Federal Statistical Office puts foreign sales between January and September 2013 at 1.1 million metric tons (330 million gallons), almost 14 percent up on the same period in 2012. In other words, Germany has become an even larger net exporter as imports have dropped by one quarter from the previous year, to 446,833 tons (134.1 million gallons). Export surplus amounted to well over 672,000 tons (201.7 million gallons), significantly more than the previous year’s 264,000 tons (79.25 million gallons).
The EU countries continue to be the top recipients of German biodiesel, receiving around 89 percent of the total quantity. Top of the list by far is the Netherlands, importing more than 355,000 tons (106.6 million gallons), around one third of German deliveries to the EU. They are followed by Poland and Austria, at around 113,000 tons (nearly 34 million gallons) each, and France, at 76,000 tons (22.8 million gallons).
Furthermore, 2013 was for the first time Germany delivered nearly 100,000 tons (30 million gallons) of biodiesel to the U.S. In previous years, exports to the U.S. had averaged a meager 500 tons (150,000 gallons).