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Since November of this year. The oil refining company Orlen Lietuva began to wholesale diesel fuel that contains a biological additive based on HVO technology. Until now, Orlen Lietuva has used biofuels made from fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), made from local rapeseed oil, as diesel. HVO biofuels are not produced in Lithuania, but are imported from foreign countries, according to the report.
According to Aušris Macijauskas, president of the Lithuanian Grain Producers Association, a large part of the rapeseed grown in Lithuania is bought by local biofuel production companies, so Orlen Lietuva’s decision to abandon Lithuanian production is a signal. danger to all Lithuanian agriculture. Lithuanian agricultural sector organizations plan to contact Orlen Lietuva in the near future with a request to clarify the situation in the biofuel sector.
Photo by Julius Kalinskas / 15min / Aušrys Macijauskas
According to calculations by the Lithuanian Grain Producers Association, if Orlen Lietuva does not buy Lithuanian RRME biofuels during the cold season (mid-November to mid-March), 120 thousand LTL will not be purchased from farmers during this period. tons of rapeseed with a market value of more than 48 million. EUR (at a price of EUR 400 / t). If the refinery decides not to buy RRME biofuels throughout the year, the farmers’ lost income would amount to more than 144 million. euros.
“Lithuanian agriculture is already in an unenviable situation, as farmers must implement extremely strict and often unreasonable environmental requirements, we cannot compete with western European farms for lower amounts of direct payments and where there are proposals to increase excise duties on diesel fuel. Every euro earned is important, so we are concerned about the situation in the rapeseed market, when local products are being displaced by cheap imports from Asian countries, “said A. Macijauskas , President of the Lithuanian Grain Producers Association.
Orlen Lietuva does not specify from which raw materials HVO imports, but there are reasonable suspicions that this raw material may be palm oil or palm oil by-product (PFAD).
The use of palm oil in biofuels is controversial, as the high demand for this oil is destroying tropical forests in Southeast Asia, threatening the extinction of animal species, and exploiting the local population for slavery.
The European Union intends to completely ban palm oil as a fuel from 2030, but deforestation in the tropics is so rapid that massifs of tropical forests could be completely destroyed within a decade. France has already restricted the use of palm oil as fuel, and Italy, Germany and Denmark are also considering such a solution.
Every euro earned is important, which is why we are concerned about the situation in the rapeseed market, where local production is being displaced by cheap imports from Asian countries.
Currently, the use of palm oil in fuel is widely debated in Lithuania. To date, biofuels with palm oil and its by-products account for about 20 percent. all biofuel markets and were imported by the Neste Lietuva gas station network. However, after Orlen Lietuva switches his biofuel feedstock, palm oil and PFAD become the dominant biofuels in Lithuania, according to the report.
“Rape is one of the most valuable crop rotation crops, this crop is grown sustainably and in accordance with strict environmental requirements. However, instead of promoting added value, job creation and payment of taxes in Lithuania, we choose imported raw materials for biofuels, the production of which causes significant damage to climate change and biodiversity ”, A. Macijauskas was surprised.
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