A USDA/FAS GAIN report

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

Under an initiative of the French President, 4 new biofuel processing plants of 200,000 MT production capacity each will be built by 2007. This increase in production would allow the French to meet the minimum incorporation rates of biofuels for car fuels suggested in Directive 2003/30/EC.

The French oilseed industry expects that French biodiesel production capacity will increase from 467,500 MT in 2004 to 900,000 MT in 2007.

Given that biodiesel is made from rapeseed oil, industrial rapeseed plantings are likely to more than double by 2007, and domestic rapeseed meal production is expected to boom.

France's demand for soybean meal is therefore expected to decline significantly, as 1 MT of soybean meal can be substituted with 1.5 MT of rapeseed meal in dairy cows feed rations.

Complete report in PDF format: http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200501/146118448.pdf