Brazil exported a total of 6,700 cubic meters (6.7 million liters) of tallow-based biodiesel to Europe in May, Agencia Estado reported Tuesday.
The product was sold by Brazilian food processing giant JBS to Dutch fuel blender Argos Energies. The price of the transaction was not disclosed.
According to one Brazil-based source, tallow-based biodiesel was pricing at a discount to conventional soyoil-based biodiesel in Brazil at the time the deal was concluded.
The product will be mixed with conventional diesel and delivered by Argos and to Argos' customers in Europe.
Tallow is the second most used biodiesel feedstock in Brazil after soybean, representing around 20% of output. Soyoil accounts for 75% of output, with the remainder split between other types of vegetable oils and animal fats.
In Europe, some grades of waste-derived biodiesel, including product from tallow, count for double their actual energy value against the bloc's biofuels targets. This helps fuel blenders meet national mandates more easily.
But the complex nuances of the so-called double-counting policy mean tallow-based biodiesel does not qualify for double credits in every EU member state.
Moreover, tallow-based biodiesel imported into the single bloc does not qualify for double counting, sources said.
JBS is the world's largest producer of biodiesel from tallow, according to the company's website. It can produce up to 200,000 cu m of the renewable fuel each year at a refinery in Lins, in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo.
The company's output is certified by ISCC as compliant with European sustainability requirements.
