Browse > Home / International / German survey finds 27 percent of oilseed mills shut down by feedstock prices, tax law changes

German survey finds 27 percent of oilseed mills shut down by feedstock prices, tax law changes

July 14, 2008

In Germany, a survey by the Center for Advanced Technology found that 27 percent of German oilseed mills had shut down production entirely and that 36 percent are running on less than 50 percent of capacity. The survey concluded that feedstock prices and changes in the German taxation system to remove biofuels tax credits, were responsible for the industry collapse.

Germany background

An advisory committee to the Thuringian Agricultural Ministry concluded that as much as 30 percent of Thuringian arable land could be converted to biofuel production without impact on the food or livestock feed industries. The German state had previously announced a 20 percent biofuels target for 2020.

A 95 Mgy Südzucker ethanol plant, the largest in Europe, commenced production in Zeitz last month. The plant uses sugar beet syrup as a feedstock, and will also produce its own biogas that will power special burners that eliminate all aromatic compounds associated with the production process.

Cropenergies announced the purchase of Ryssen Alcools from Sudzucker and said that it would increase ethanol production by nearly 30 Mgy in France. The company said that it will produce a total of 185 Mgy in 2008/09.

Lufthansa said last month that it would convert up to 10 percent of its fuel usage to biofuels by 2020, as a part of its overall effort to reduce emissions by 25 percent in that time frame. compared to 2006 levels. The company, which announced a set of measures to improve environmental efficiency, also said that it would reduce NOX emissions by 80 percent from 2000 levels.

Daimler said that has successfully tested B100 jatropha biodiesel in 3500 mile trail runs across the country using a Mercedes-Benz C Class C 220 CDI. The trial runs met European emission requirements and achieved comparable mileage to conventional diesel fuel Daimler also said that it was testing the production of jatropha at two nurseries in India, totaling 30 hectares, and that it projected that it would be able top produce jatropha at $1.57 per gallon. The company said it would take two to five years to maximize yield with a varietal whose seeds contained 60 percent oil, and that jatropha would provide yields for up to 30 years.

Earlier in July, Verbio has put its ethanol production unit in Schwedt back online, after shutting down last October due to escalating rye prices. The plant has now converted over to sugar production and sugar-containing wastes, which will make it cost competitive with Brazilian ethanol.

  • Germany to reduce biofuels target from 17 percent to 12 percent in 2020
    • In Germany, the Federal Environment Ministry said that it plans to reduce the biofuels target from 17 percent to 12 percent by 2020, because of "changes in circumstance". The current German target is ...
  • German biodiesel taxes to rise 40 percent in January: producers cry “extinction!”
    • In Germany, the biodiesel industry is facing a new extinction threat if federal government carries forward with its plant to increase biodiesel taxes by 40 percent in January.  The tax hike, from 15 ...
  • 82 percent of US consumers blame fuel prices, not farmers, for high food prices, survey finds
    • In Missouri, the United Soybean Board released results from a survey in which 82 percent of consumers said that high fuel prices are to blame for food prices, not US farmers. The “National Agricultu...
  • Hormel Foods survey finds 58 percent of Americans say role of ethanol should be rethought in light of food prices
    • In Minnesota, a survey by Hormel Foods has found that 67 percent of Americans say that food prices have increased significantly in the past year, and 61 percent believe that corn ethanol is partly res...
  • 74 percent of Brits concerned about climate change, pollution in air travel, survey finds; 22 percent says it affects their plans
    • In the UK, a survey of British air travelers found that 74 percent were concerned about the climate and pollution impact of air travel but that 22 percent said it affected their travel plans. Among su...
  • “China Eats the World” details growing Chinese impact on oilseed prices
    • In an article titled "China Eats the World", part of the landmark report Biodiesel 2020, author Will Thurmond finds that "China is eating a disproportionately large volume of the world's oilseeds. ...

    Written by Jim Lane · Filed Under International 

    Comments

    Got something to say?

    You must be logged in to post a comment.