Irish, EU and US governments must take action against “mislabelled” green fuels that are undermining their own industries, Clonbio chief executive Mark Turley has warned in his company’s annual returns.
The Ireland-based Clonbio Group processes grain to make biofuels among other products in operations here, eastern Europe and the US.
Newly filed accounts show it lost €14 million last year as high grain prices, energy costs and depreciation charges hit its bottom line.
Mr Turley noted in his report with the accounts that the company’s Irish green gas business had a “challenging year”.
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Cheap mislabelled biofuel imports from Asia are undermining legitimate producers here, in Europe and the US, whose products meet stringent standards, he noted, while Asian imports contain raw materials that, instead of mitigating environmental damage, are “actively contributing to deforestation and climate change”.
Clonbio has been raising the issue for several years with the EU and various governments, including the Republic’s.
Mr Turley acknowledged that those authorities are beginning to take steps to investigate the issue, which he said is “better late than never”.
“Clonbio encourages a major step up in the authorities’ work in this area and will provide any necessary support and co-operation to the authorities to deal with the matter,” he added.
Eamon Ryan, Minister for Transport, raised the issue in October with the EU’s Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council, with the backing of several other member states.
European manufacturers fear that biofuel suppliers from China and other Asian countries are passing virgin palm oil off as legitimate fuel in breach of EU regulations, hitting the union’s own producers’ ability to compete.
Palm oil is not classed as sustainable as its production requires large scale deforestation. Huge growth in processed, waste cooking oil from the region have prompted suspicions of fraud in recent years.
Certifying bodies recognised by the EU have refused to endorse fuels from some Asian producers.
Clonbio Group Ltd’s accounts show it lost €14 million after tax last year, from a profit of €104.7 million in 2022. Revenues slipped 11 per cent to €559 million in 2023.
Chairman Richie Boucher noted that high energy costs, a consequence of the Ukraine war and a poor grain harvest, hit the group’s largest business, Pannonia in Hungary, particularly in the first half of the year.
The company stated that 2024′s accounts will show a recovery from this. Mr Boucher pointed out that the group continued to invest through this period.
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