Ukraine is increasing exports of bioethanol. But will Europe need it soon?
23 April 14:21
Exports of bioethanol from Ukraine in January-March 2025 increased by 180.6% compared to the same period of the previous year – up to 39.0 thousand tons. This is reported by the specialized publication NaftoRynok, "Komersant Ukrainian" informs.
The leader in terms of exports is First Podilska Energy Company, which accounts for almost a third of the volume (30.7%).
What are the export dynamics?
In March, bioethanol exports from Ukraine decreased by 9.1% compared to February and amounted to 14.4 thousand tons.
It is worth noting that in February, Ukrainian companies sold record high volumes of ethanol abroad, which was due to the lack of supplies in January.
Who exported bioethanol
The number of exporters remained stable in March: seven companies sold bioethanol abroad, the same as in February. At the same time, their composition has changed: Uzynskyi Sugar Plant returned to exporting, while Western Ethanol Group stopped supplying.
Among the major exporters, Vitagro Bio Trade showed the largest increase in average daily volumes (up 20.0%). On the other hand, the most noticeable decrease was recorded by First Podilska Energy Company (minus 42.2%).
Who buys Ukrainian bioethanol
The geography of exports remained unchanged: products were supplied to six countries.
The main importers in March were Lithuania (66.6%), Bulgaria (12.7%), and Poland (10.0%).
How Ukraine exported bioethanol in 2024
Last year, 99.3 thousand tons of bioethanol were exported.
As reported by NaftoRynok, bioethanol was supplied by companies with production facilities in 7 regions of Ukraine, namely: “Zarubinsky Distillery, Haisynsky Distillery, Trostyanetsky Distillery, Hnidavsky Sugar Plant, Vitagro, Uzynsky Sugar Plant, Westnol, Khorostkivsky Distillery, Teofipolsky Sugar Plant, Budylsky Experimental Plant.
The total value of exports reached UAH 70.5 million. The majority of bioethanol was exported to the EU (87.1%), with the rest going to Switzerland.
The European market is crucial for Ukrainian exporters
At the end of February, Ukraine was unexpectedly informed that certain interest groups in the EU had appealed to the European Commission with a statement that the import of Ukrainian bioethanol was a sensitive issue for them.
“This is not the official position of the European Commission,” said Taras Kachka, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Trade Representative of Ukraine. He added that Ukraine would have to “renegotiate” the export of bioethanol to the EU as part of a free trade agreement.
The current European Commission quota limits bioethanol exports to 100,000 tons per year. And it is not yet clear what will happen to these exports in the future if the EU’s autonomous trade measures for Ukraine are canceled after June 5 and the current quota is revised. LIGA.net writes about this and considers two options.
The current quota may be canceled and a customs export regime may be introduced, which will reduce the competitive ability of Ukrainian bioethanol in the European market.
Another option is that the quota may be increased. As the publication explains, the issue is that more than 300,000 tons of bioethanol are sold to Europe by US companies. If the customs war between the EU and the US intensifies, imports of American bioethanol to Europe may stop, and in this case Ukraine may receive an increased quota for bioethanol exports at the expense of the US.
Who supplies bioethanol to the EU
According to Taras Mykolayenko, Executive Director of Ukrbioethanol, in 2024, the EU produced 4 million tons and imported 2 million tons of bioethanol.
As of 2023, the top 5 suppliers of ethanol to the EU were:
Pakistan – 323.6 thousand tons,
USA – 306.5 thousand tons,
Brazil – 297.2 thousand tons,
Britain – 210.1 thousand tons,
Peru – 109.8 thousand tons.
Ukraine then took 7th place with a volume of 72.9 thousand tons.
