Brazil produced 9.0 billion litres of biodiesel in 2024, roughly a fifth more than the year before, and about 73 percent of it started as soybean oil -- which makes Brazil one of the world's largest glycerine origins. The blend mandate climbed to B15 on 1 August 2025 and is set to step up again after February 2026, so the glycerine stream keeps growing with it. For every hundred kilos of biodiesel, roughly ten kilos of crude glycerine arrive: a 9-billion-litre industry produces glycerine at the scale of a mid-sized chemicals commodity. The export file is the same five numbers every buyer asks for -- glycerol, water, ash, MONG, methanol -- plus the CN classification (crude under 1520 00 00, pure glycerol at 95 percent and above under 2905 45 00), the ISCC chain where the cargo claims Annex IX Part A compliance value, and heated logistics: glycerine solidifies below 17.8 °C, and the Europe lane from Santos and Paranaguá crosses the equator twice.
- 1Collection or rendering
- 2Pretreatment
- 3Certified trade
- 4Producer: HVO, SAF or FAME
- 5Fuel in the tank
The value is created at step three: without the certification the same molecule is worth what tallow was worth twenty years ago.
Why Brazil is a glycerine origin the market underprices
The USDA counts 9.0 billion litres of Brazilian biodiesel in 2024, up 20 percent on 2023's 7.6 billion, with 2025 expected near 9.8 billion. Soybean oil carried about 73 percent of 2024 production, tallow 6 percent, and the blend mandate reached B15 on 1 August 2025 with the next step legislated after February 2026. The glycerine follows the biodiesel arithmetically: roughly a tenth of the tonnage, arriving whether or not anyone has arranged a home for it.
That co-product scale is the commercial fact. Brazilian producers sit on continuous crude glycerine volume, much of it soy-origin, at a purity profile that European refiners, oleochemical plants and biogas operators know how to read. The sellers who do well out of it are the ones who stop treating it as tank space and start offering it as a specification.
The export file, in the order buyers ask for it
| Step | What it is | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The five-number specification | Glycerol (80 % min is the refiner basis; 85 and 88 % also trade), water, ash, MONG per ISO 2464, and methanol below 0.5 %. | Offers quoting only purity -- a seller quoting half the specification gets half the price. |
| 2. Classification and CN code | Crude glycerine under CN 1520 00 00; material at roughly 95 % glycerol or above under 2905 45 00. The code fixes duty and statistics treatment. | A refined cargo declared as crude, or the reverse, corrected after loading. |
| 3. The ISCC EU chain | Where the cargo claims compliance value: every link certified from the Brazilian plant through storage, trader and importer, with point-of-origin declarations behind it. | Crude glycerine is Annex IX Part A at point (i) and counts twice its energy content toward the transport targets -- but only through a chain that exists. |
| 4. Freight and the temperature line | Heated or insulated ISO tanks of 20 to 26 tonnes and bulk parcels out of the liquid-bulk terminals of Santos and Paranaguá; drummed container lots for smaller streams. | Glycerine solidifies below 17.8 °C. An unheated booking in the European winter is a claim with a delay. |
| 5. Documents and payment | COA per batch, SDS stating methanol and pH, origin documentation, certification chain; documentary or secured terms on first business. | Chasing the last dollar from a buyer whose payment terms are not secured. |
The feed route has one extra attraction for soy-based crude: catalogue entry 13.8.1 of Regulation (EU) No 68/2013 sets the written ceilings -- up to 0.5 % methanol, salts to 7.5 %, MONG to 4 % -- and a Brazilian crude that clears them has a second market alongside the refiners. See our how to sell glycerine guide for the full route.
Honest notes for Brazilian sellers
- We work in English and Portuguese. The desk contracts in English; this page is in English because that is how the trade contracts, and Portuguese reaches the same desk.
- Quote the five numbers unprompted. Brazilian crude competes with every origin in Europe; the specification is what makes distance irrelevant.
- The mandate sets your calendar. Biodiesel runs to the blend mandate, and glycerine volume follows it -- term placement rides that calendar better than spot luck does.
- Soy, tallow and used oil origins price differently at the same purity. The origin documentation is part of the offer, not an afterthought.
Frequently asked questions
Does Brazil produce a lot of glycerine?
Yes. Brazil produced 9.0 billion litres of biodiesel in 2024, and roughly a tenth of biodiesel tonnage arrives as crude glycerine -- so the co-product stream runs at the scale of hundreds of thousands of tonnes a year, growing with the B15 mandate.
What is Brazilian crude glycerine made from?
Mostly soybean oil: about 73 percent of 2024 biodiesel started as soybean oil, with tallow at 6 percent and the rest from other fatty materials. The origin matters for documentation and for buyers who price soy, tallow and waste-based streams differently.
Can Brazilian glycerine claim Annex IX value in Europe?
Crude glycerine is listed in Annex IX Part A at point (i) of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and counts twice its energy content toward the transport targets -- through an ISCC chain from the Brazilian plant to the European importer. Without the chain, the same cargo sells as industrial material.
What CN code does Brazilian glycerine use?
Crude glycerine under CN 1520 00 00; pure glycerol at roughly 95 percent and above under 2905 45 00. Brazilian refined glycerine usually belongs on the second line, and the classification should be settled with the customs agent before the first shipment.
Which ports does glycerine leave Brazil from?
The liquid-bulk terminals of Santos and Paranaguá handle the trade, with container lots drummed where a bulk route does not exist. Heated or insulated equipment matters on the European leg in winter, because glycerine solidifies below 17.8 °C.
Is Brazilian crude glycerine suitable for animal feed in Europe?
Where it meets the ceilings of catalogue entry 13.8.1 of Regulation (EU) No 68/2013 -- methanol up to 0.5 %, salts to 7.5 %, MONG to 4 % -- feed is a real second market for Brazilian crude, with the labelling thresholds for sodium, potassium and nickel declared.
What price does Brazilian glycerine fetch?
We do not publish price assessments. What we can tell you quickly is where a specific parcel clears against its actual glycerol, methanol, ash and MONG figures, volume and discharge region -- send those and the answer follows the specification, not the origin discount a buyer might otherwise assume.
Can a small Brazilian producer export glycerine?
Below programme volumes, usually not alone -- aggregation into a consistent, certified stream is the standard route, and one-off tanks sell into schedule holes. Tell us the monthly volume and we will say honestly which of the two you are in.
Do you buy the cargo yourselves?
No. We are a broker: the contract always runs principal to principal, and our fee does not sit in your payment flow. See why use a broker.
Market news
Recent headlines from across the feedstock and renewable fuel sector. Nothing specific to this market has come through the wires lately, so this is the wider view. The links go to the publisher; we do not host or edit their reporting, and a headline here is not our endorsement of it. Scroll for more.
- Neste and United Airlines extend SAF agreement
- WELTEC BIOPOWER begins construction of 60GW Spanish biomethane plant
- U.S. ethanol exports set new records
- FedEx expanding SAF procurement across five US airports in 2027
- Pertamina seeks ethanol import excise exemption
- Senate advances bill to allow year-round E15
- The Digest’s 2026 Multi-Slide Guide to Regional SAF Distribution
- Research and innovation projects supporting the Circular Economy Act Focus area : extended producer responsibility
- Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation: Stakeholder consultation on the methods for defining classes of performance and labels
- Research and innovation projects supporting the Circular Economy Act, Focus area : circular public procurement
- Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation: Stakeholder consultation on the method for identifying and tracking substances of concern in products
- Birla Carbon to present ‘next-generation carbon solutions’ at Global Polymer Summit 2026
- ‘World’s first hydrogen-fuelled engine for large commercial vessels’ completes land-based testing
- Moeve breaks ground on renewable hydrogen project
- Yokogawa wins order from KHI for hydrogen-fuelled vessels
- Azane and Yara ink ammonia supply agreement
- World Fuel Co-Founder Michael Kasbar to step down as Executive Chairman at the end of the year
- Bayer and Neste close commercial agreement to jointly scale newgold® winter canola for biofuels production
18 headlines, updated automatically. Last refreshed .
Sources and further reading
Primary sources for the rules and figures on this page, so you can check them yourself. Legislation is amended: always read the consolidated text on the date that matters to you.
- USDA FAS GAIN report BR2025-0030, Biofuels Annual Brazil (biodiesel volumes, feedstock shares, B15)
- EU feed material catalogue, Regulation (EU) No 68/2013 consolidated (entry 13.8.1)
- Directive (EU) 2018/2001 (RED II), Annex IX and Article 27(2)
- Our how to sell glycerine in Europe guide
- Our glycerine product page: grades, specification and outlets
Who to ask about Export glycerine from Brazil
Just ask. Brazilian glycerine to place? Send the glycerol, water, ash, MONG and methanol figures with the monthly volume and where it sits, and we will tell you where it lands. You get Bart van den Brug on the other end, same working day, in English or Dutch, and across the team also in French, Portuguese, Polish, Czech and Russian.
On how we work: on the feedstocks and fuels on this site we are a broker. We never take title, we do not trade our own book, and we are paid a commission on business that concludes. Additives are the one exception: those we also buy and sell for our own account, and we say in which capacity we are acting before you commit to anything. Either way you will hear it from us when the answer is no, or when your parcel is not ready for the conversation you want to have. A market read or a second opinion on a specification costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Happy to look at whatever you have, even if it is half an analysis and a question.
+31 6 115 83 448
bart@sustainablecommodities.eu
Sustainable Commodities 3 B.V., Lemmer, the Netherlands
Ask about Export glycerine from Brazil
Specification, volume, location and certification are enough to start.
Or e-mail us directly: bart@sustainablecommodities.eu
Last reviewed 20 September 2026. Regulatory references are given for orientation and are not legal advice: verify against the current Official Journal text before contracting.