Biofuel (diesel) has emerged as a new usage for vegetable oil. Increased use has continued, with the production amount reaching 49.05 million tons in 2021 and 52.18 million tons in 2022 and forecasted to reach 55.67 million tons in 2023. Figure 11 shows the production amount of biodiesel by the type of oil used as the raw material. The types of oil used as a material for manufacturing biodiesel are palm oil, soybean oil, and rapeseed oil. In some cases, the oil used in manufacturing is oil that has been thrown away after cooking (used cooking oil).

Figure 11: Changes in biofuel production amount by type of material oil

(Unit: Million tons)

Source: Same as Figure 1

Table 5 shows the biodiesel production amount by country and region. In the EU, 6.23 million tons of rapeseed oil was used in biodiesel manufacturing in 2022. This accounts for slightly more than 60% of the total amount (10.19 million tons) of rapeseed oil that were consumed in the EU. Accordingly, it is reasonable to state that biodiesel leads the consumption of rapeseed oil in the EU. Other types of oil used in biodiesel manufacturing are soybean oil in the United States, Argentina, and Brazil; and palm oil in Indonesia. The use of palm oil is also increasing in the EU, but a shift to used cooking oil is taking place in recent years.

Table 5: Changes in the biodiesel production amount by country/region

(Unit: Million tons)

Source: Same as Figure 1