Biofuel demand, limited supply provide support for used cooking oil prices despite regulatory uncertainties

GLOBAL demand for used cooking oil (UCO), a feedstock for biofuels such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), is expected to continue to rise, despite regulatory uncertainty in major importing regions such as the United States and Europe.

Together with a limited supply of legitimate UCO, market watchers believe this will support UCO prices in the medium term.

Export volumes from Asia – the largest collector of UCO – have increased more than fivefold between 2016 and 2021 to a total of 2.5 tonnes, accounting for 38 per cent of global UCO exports.