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The European Union imported significantly less palm oil between July 2024 and early March 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier, according to European Commission data cited by Germany's Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants (UFOP).
The report, published on 19 March 2025, stated that total EU palm oil imports came in at just under 1.9 million tonnes during this period, down from 2.4 million tonnes in the same period a year earlier and 2.8 million tonnes between July 2022 and March 2023.
Indonesia remained the EU's leading supplier, shipping a total of 608,100 tonnes.
However, shipments from the country fell 23% year-on-year between July and early March, while imports from Malaysia, the second-largest supplier, dropped by around 30% to 426,000 tonnes.
According to research carried out by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft, the slowdown in shipments from Guatemala was even steeper, with volumes falling by 37%. Papua New Guinea was the only country to record a slight increase in shipment volumes over the period.
UFOP attributed the decline in the EU's palm oil imports to the impending expiry of the provision under the EU's Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) that permits the use of palm oil-derived biofuel, which is due to be phased out by 2030.
Source: Al Mal Forum