Feb 20, 2025
Brazil Delays Move from B14 to B15 Biodiesel Blend
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
In a meeting held earlier this week, the Brazilian National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) decided to delay the implementation of B15 biodiesel that was approved by the Future Fuel Program in 2023. The blend was supposed to go from B14 to B15 in March, but it will be maintained at the B14 level for the time being.
Soybean oil constitutes approximately 80% of the vegetable oil used in biodiesel and the recent increase in soybean oil prices was the justification used to delay the implementation of B15.
The idea behind the delay to B15 was to avoid upward pressure on diesel prices, the main fuel used in the transport of cargo and food.
The biodiesel sector disagrees with the decision and indicated that biodiesel prices are now declining due to the devaluation of the dollar and lower soybean oil prices. More importantly, they indicated that soybean crushers and biodiesel producers invested heavily in increased capacity after the Future Fuel Program established a program to increase the biodiesel blend on an annual basis until it reached B20.
Additionally, they argue that Brazil is set to harvest a record soybean crop in 2024/25 and new crushing facilities have been built to produce more soybean meal for animal rations and soybean oil for human consumption and biodiesel production. Those investments are now in jeopardy if the program to increase the blend percentage is delayed.
Soybeans are the main raw material used to produce biodiesel in Brazil. In their February Crop Report, Conab estimated that Brazil will produce a record 166.01 million tons of soybeans in 2024/25, an increase of 12.4% compared to 2023/24. The soybean acreage in 2024/25 is estimated at 47.45 million hectares (117.2 million acres), an increase of 2.8% compared to 2023/24.