International biodiesel markets - Development in production and trade

The global biodiesel market has shown an exponential growth in production and trade across the past decade. Nowadays, more biodiesel than ever before is sourced from abroad and procurement areas – especially of large scale producers and traders – span the globe. While this trend is bound to continue, markets and trade developments are still strongly linked to support and trade policies. Furthermore, the biodiesel industry is strongly linked to other sectors (agriculture and mineral oil industry in particular) and faces significant market disturbances some of which have led to various inefficiencies in the past. Due to the pace of this market development, a methodological assessment and understanding of the numerous influencing factors was needed to reduce uncertainties and risks for those involved.