Biodiesel once again lower priced than agricultural diesel

In Germany, UFOP reports that at the beginning of March, farmers have to fork out less for biodiesel than for agricultural diesel for the first time in just less than one year, although diesel is cheaper than a year ago.

Biodiesel prices first and foremost depend on vegetable oil prices – rapeseed oil in the winter months and soybean and palm oil in the summer months. Rapeseed oil is sourced from German or European production, whereas soybean and palm oil are usually imported from overseas. Also, there are processing costs. This is why biodiesel is always more expensive than rapeseed oil fuel.

In the spring of 2018, vegetable oils became so cheap that biodiesel was offered at lower prices than fossil diesel, which followed the rising mineral oil prices only with delay, Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (AMI) reported. Only brisk demand for biodiesel towards the end of the year lifted biodiesel prices to a level above diesel. However, a decline in demand combined with a sharp drop in vegetable oil prices forced down biodiesel prices to below the level of diesel at the end of February 2019.