France requires 60pc GHG from ex-EU biodiesel imports

In the United Kingdom, Argus Media reports that French biodiesel imports from outside the EU must have a minimum 60pc greenhouse gas savings value from 1 January — a measure that could have considerable impact on trade flows from Argentina. The law, thought to be an attempt to protect French biodiesel production from swelling Argentinian soy methyl ester imports, applies to plants that began operating outside the EU from January 2008. The majority of Argentina’s biodiesel production became operational after that time and default GHG value of its SME falls short of the new requirement.

Around 387,000t of Argentinian SME was scheduled for export to Europe in November-December 2017, some of which is expected to arrive this month. A significant portion of the Argentinian SME sent to Europe in recent months has made its way to France after being received in the Netherlands and Spain.