China’s May UCO exports rise 61% y-o-y to 310,000 tonnes; biodiesel exports fall 37% y-o-y to 39,000 tonnes

China's used cooking oil (UCO) exports totaled 310,254 tonnes in May, up by 61.4% from 192,204 tonnes a year earlier, according to data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs (GACC). Volumes were also up by 9.4% from the 283,592 tonnes in April.

June 23, 2026

By Ryan Ng

The United States was the top destination with 74,505 tonnes, followed by the Netherlands (51,404 tonnes), Italy (32,544 tonnes), Canada (32,500 tonnes), Singapore (31,118 tonnes) and Malaysia (30,739 tonnes). The Republic of Korea (28,403 tonnes) and Thailand (14,887 tonnes) were also significant buyers, while Romania (4,801 tonnes), Bulgaria (4,000 tonnes) and India (3,081 tonnes) rounded out the larger shipments.

China’s cumulative UCO exports for January–May 2026 reached 1,367,468 tonnes, up by 36.8% from the 999,544 tonnes shipped over the same period in 2025.

Fastmarkets’ daily assessment of used cooking oil, bulk, fob China was $1,172 per tonne on Friday June 19, unchanged from Thursday.

Biodiesel

Chinese exports of biodiesel totaled 38,601 tonnes in May, down by 52.7% from 81,545 tonnes in April and 37.0% below the 61,297 tonnes recorded a year earlier.

Hong Kong was the top destination, accounting for 12,171 tonnes, followed by Malaysia (10,840 tonnes) and the Netherlands (8,686 tonnes). Germany picked up 4,486 tonnes, while South Korea imported 2,354 tonnes and Myanmar received 64 tonnes.

Cumulative biodiesel exports for the first five months of 2026 stood at 353,826 tonnes, up by 12.3% year on year from the 315,047 tonnes shipped over the same period in 2025, though the pace of outperformance has narrowed considerably following April and May’s declines.

Fastmarkets’ daily assesment for biodiesel, UCOME Outright, fob ARA was $1,597.25 per tonne on Friday June 19, down by $14 per tonne from $1,611.25 per tonne on Thursday.

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