January 26, 2023

 

Plans in Germany to stop crop-based biofuels would affect farmers

 

Thomas Mielke, CEO of Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World, said any plans by the German government to stop crop-based biofuel production would severely affect farmers and slash rapeseed output, Nasdaq reported.

 

Mielke said smaller oilseed crushings in Germany would increase imports of soybeans and soymeal, as well as widen the country's domestic protein deficit for livestock feed.

 

Steffi Lemke, Germany's environment minister, has proposed phasing out the production of biofuels derived from crops by 2030.

 

As part of Germany's programme to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, biofuels like biodiesel and bioethanol are blended with fossil fuels like diesel and gasoline to cut down on road vehicle emissions.

 

The production of biodiesel uses about half of Germany's rapeseed crop, which in 2022 totaled 3.7 million tonnes.

 

In Germany, about 3 million tonnes of biodiesel are combined with fossil diesel each year. Rapeseed meal, used as livestock feed, is also made from crushed rapeseed.

 

More German rapeseed oil could be exported as a result of this proposal, Mielke said. German farmers' rapeseed cultivation would also decrease.

 

He said a drastic change in policy would naturally also reduce import demand, intensify the competition with producers from exporting countries, and reduce prices.

 

Lemke, a Green party representative in Germany's ruling coalition, said she wants to increase the use of biofuels made from waste materials like food scraps and used cooking oil.

 

Mielke said he does not think that crop-based biofuels can be replaced in this way because there is not enough waste available to produce the volumes needed.

 

-      Nasdaq