Mr. Justin Yuan, CEO of STIN Group, was invited to delivery a speech on China UCO Market and Outlook at a conference held by ISCC in Shanghai in Nov 2017. Mr. Justin introduced the current UCO market in China, covering the UCO resources, UCO supplies and demand, supplier locations, price trends and the export regulations from local government authorities etc.
In China each province has their own policies or regulations on the management of waste oils, but for export business, currently Sichuan, Hebei, Guangdong are the top 3 manufacturing bases.
Hebei claims to have the most UCO plants in China, particularly around Shijiazhuang City. Lots of UCO from North China, covering Beijing, Tianjin, Inner Mongolia etc, has flowed into Hebei area. We can see several small or mid-scale oil collectors around Shijiazhuang city.
Shandong has the largest refining capacity with most oil refiners (refineries), they mainly collect UCO from central and eastern China.
Sichuan has been a major UCO refining base in western China since 2015 due to their unique cuisine habit. Sichuan is the home of hotpot food, in which lot of cooking oils are used. That’s why they have more UCO than other provinces in China.
Guangdong is next to South China Sea, and it has been the largest UCO exporter in China since 2016 thanks to its convenient transportation by sea. But I heard that transportation of UCO might be changed soon as more and more suppliers from Sichuan area are trying to deliver the UCO by train via Rong Ou Express Line, a train route launched on March 26, 2013, connecting Chengdu to Lodz, Poland. With only around 12 days, the UCO from Sichuan can reach the railway stations in Poland, Europe. It will be expanded to France, Germany, Netherlands and other European countries soon. It's really fast and convenient enough.
Currently Netherlands is the largest export destination for China UCO, accounting for around 60.5% of all China UCO export in the first half of 2017. Korea comes next, followed by Spain, Hongkong, Thailand, and UK. Other countries are trying to import UCO and UCOME from China soon.
