US biodiesel production up slightly y/y in 9-mo 2017

US biodiesel production increased slightly in the first nine months of 2017 from the same period of 2016, in spite of the expiration of the biodiesel blender's tax credit at the end of last year, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on its website on Friday.

According to EIA's monthly biodiesel production report, production in the January-September 2017 period totalled 1,152 million gallons (4,361 million litres).

The agency said that US biodiesel output may continue to increase due to policies on imports from Argentina and Indonesia. The US Department of Commerce (DoC) is set to issue final countervailing duty orders with rates ranging from 34% to 72% on biodiesel imports from the two countries and depending on the results of the antidumping investigation, the combined effect of duties may more than double the price of biodiesel from these destinations. The loss of cheap imports, however, could further decrease biodiesel's price competitiveness, EIA said.

Biodiesel qualifies as an advanced biofuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) programme. In 2016, the US consumed 2,189 million gallons biodiesel, 72% of which were produced domestically. US biodiesel plants operated at 69% of nameplate capacity last year.

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