We do not publish price assessments and we do not republish anyone else's. Price reporting agencies license that work and it is not ours to give away. What we can do is more useful anyway: explain how each quotation is constructed, so you can tell whether two numbers are actually comparable, and give you a live read on where business is clearing when you ask. Most of the price confusion we see is not about the level. It is about the basis.
Why two quotes for the same product are usually not comparable
Before anyone argues about ten dollars, these five things have to match. In our experience most of the gap between two offers turns out to sit here rather than in the market.
- Incoterm and location. CIF Rotterdam includes freight and insurance to the port. FOB China does not. A FOB number that looks higher can be the cheaper cargo once it lands, and the reverse happens just as often.
- Specification. UCO at 3 % FFA and UCO at 8 % FFA are different products. So are 15 ppm sulphur and 60 ppm when the buyer hydrotreats.
- Certification and counting. The same molecules with and without a valid proof of sustainability are two different commodities. In a capped or multiplier market the certificate can be worth more than the oil.
- Volume, timing and credit. A prompt single parcel prices differently from a twelve month term programme, and payment terms are part of the price whether or not anyone says so.
- Unit and currency. USD per tonne, EUR per tonne, cents per litre, per gigajoule. Conversions between mass, volume and energy hide real money, and we have seen offers compared across units that were never comparable.
The quotes people ask us about
| UCO CIF ARA / Rotterdam | The European import benchmark: used cooking oil delivered into the Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp range, freight and insurance included. Usually quoted against a reference specification, so always ask which. |
|---|---|
| UCO FOB China | Loaded at a Chinese port, buyer carries freight. Since China removed the 13 % export tax rebate on UCO on 1 December 2024, the historic relationship between this quote and CIF ARA has shifted structurally. Do not compare against pre-2025 spreads. See used cooking oil. |
| UCO Italy | Italy runs its own dynamic because of its domestic collection base, its HVO capacity and its national implementation of the renewable fuel rules. Domestic Italian UCO and imported UCO are not the same trade. |
| Acid oil Italy | Priced on total fatty acid content, not on tonnage. A lower headline number on lower TFA is frequently the more expensive material. See acid oils. |
| Pyrolysis oil | There is no established benchmark. Tyre-derived and plastic-derived oil are different markets, fractions price separately, and a cracker-qualified light cut and an untreated full-range oil are not the same product. Anyone quoting a single pyrolysis oil price is quoting something too vague to trade on. See pyrolysis oil. |
| HVO | Quoted against the fossil comparator and against the mandate value in the destination market. Because much European volume is contracted forward against legal obligations, quoted spot levels can be thin and unrepresentative. See HVO. |
| UCOME and FAME | Feedstock, cold flow grade and counting treatment all move the number. A summer grade quote is not a winter grade quote. See FAME biodiesel. |
| Ethanol | Fuel grade against industrial and beverage grade are different markets with different duty treatment. Relevant to us mainly through the co-product side: see fusel oil. |
What actually moves these markets
- Mandates and their national implementation. Demand for waste-based feedstock is created by law, not by preference. When a member state changes its multiplier or its cap, the feedstock price moves before anything physical does.
- The Annex IX Part B cap. Capped at 1.7 % of transport energy per member state. As a market approaches its cap, the marginal tonne is worth less. See Annex IX.
- Trade measures. EU anti-dumping duties on Chinese biodiesel of roughly 10 % to 35.6 % under Regulation (EU) 2025/261 reshaped the import picture.
- Collection economics. Waste feedstock supply is not price elastic in the short run. Restaurants do not fry more because UCO went up.
- Freight and the arbitrage window. Half of what looks like a price move between regions is a freight move.
- Certification availability, which behaves like a separate market on top of the physical one.
Why we will not publish numbers, and what you get instead
Price reporting agencies invest heavily in assessing these markets and license the result. Republishing their numbers on a public website is not something we will do, and any broker who does it is telling you something about how they treat other people's confidential information too.
A published number is also stale the moment it is written, and stale prices start more arguments than they settle.
What we give instead is a live read: where we see business actually clearing for your specification, on your basis, into your destination, today. That costs you nothing and no obligation. If you need a formally assessed published price for a contract clause, you need a price reporting agency subscription, and we will tell you that rather than pretend otherwise.
Frequently asked questions
What is the price of UCO CIF Rotterdam today?
We do not publish price assessments, and republishing a price reporting agency's licensed numbers is not something we will do. What we will do, same working day, is give you a live read on where business is clearing for your specification on your basis. Ask, and state the FFA, the MIU, the sulphur, the certification and the volume, because a number without those is not a price.
Why is UCO FOB China sometimes higher than CIF Rotterdam?
Because China removed the 13 % export tax rebate on UCO on 1 December 2024. That rebate was effectively the exporter's margin, so FOB levels had to rise to keep the same netback. The historic relationship between FOB China and CIF ARA shifted structurally, and comparing against pre-2025 spreads produces wrong conclusions.
Is there a benchmark price for pyrolysis oil?
No, and be careful with anyone who quotes one. Tyre-derived and plastic-derived oil are separate markets, fractions price separately, and a cracker-qualified light cut is a completely different product from untreated full-range oil. A single pyrolysis oil price is too vague to trade on.
How should I compare two offers from different origins?
Line up five things before you look at the number: Incoterm and location, specification, certification and counting treatment, volume with timing and credit terms, and unit with currency. Most of the gap between two offers sits in those five rather than in the market.
Why is acid oil quoted on total fatty acid?
Because you are buying the usable fraction, not the drum. A parcel with a lower headline price per tonne but lower TFA is frequently the more expensive material once you work it back to the fatty acid you actually get.
Do you charge for a market read?
No. It is how we start conversations and how we stay useful to people who are not trading with us this week. If it turns into business, we are paid a brokerage commission on the deal, normally carried by one named side and agreed in advance.
Can I use your read as a contract reference price?
No. For a contract clause you need a formally assessed, published price from a price reporting agency with a defined methodology. A broker's read is market colour and it is not designed to carry that weight. We will say so rather than let you write us into a contract clause that will not hold.
Who to ask about Prices & market reads
Ask us. Want to know where business is actually clearing today? Ask. A read costs you nothing and it is more useful than a number without a basis. We answer the same working day, in English or Dutch, and there is no charge and no obligation for a market read or a second opinion on a specification.
You get Bart van den Brug directly, not a call centre and not a form that goes nowhere. We are an independent broker: we never take title, we do not trade our own book, and we are paid a commission only on business that actually concludes. That is why we will also tell you when the answer is no.
+31 6 115 83 448
[email protected]
Sustainable Commodities 3 B.V., Lemmer, the Netherlands
Last reviewed 09 August 2026 by Bart van den Brug, Sustainable Commodities 3 B.V. (KvK 99665042), Lemmer, the Netherlands. Regulatory references are given for orientation and are not legal advice; verify against the current Official Journal text before contracting.