Asia/Europe UCO shipments to remain weak near-term
European UCO imports from Asia continued falling in February
Used cooking oil (UCO) shipments from Asia to Europe continued to fall 3% MoM and 31% YoY in February to around 66kt. The region’s largest supplier, China, faced a disruption in collection during January and February, due to movement restrictions and eatery closures in China amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Shipments from Indonesia and Malaysia fell during the month, and are likely to continue declining, due to similar restrictions that are on-going. On the demand side, fuel consumption in Europe has fallen, hurting demand for biodiesel and feedstock UCO, with much of the region under lockdown. Asia/Europe UCO shipments may continue falling in the near term, with China still recovering the impact of COVID-19 and as Europe’s appetite for cargoes remain weak. Please see our Biodiesel 5-Year Shipping Outlook entitled FAME & Fortune: Rising demand for biodiesel tonnage for more on this trade.