SAF, vegetable oils and protein markets move in the same direction amid tightening feedstock supply

European markets for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), vegetable oils and animal proteins are showing a synchronized upward price pressure, driven by intensifying competition for a limited pool of waste-based and by-product feedstocks. Analysts say the three sectors are increasingly linked through shared raw materials used across energy, feed and food supply chains.

In the SAF segment, production costs have risen as key inputs, particularly used cooking oil (UCO), have become more expensive. In Northwest Europe, ISCC-certified UCO climbed to €1,117 per tonne, immediately increasing the cost base for HEFA-based SAF production, where waste oils remain the dominant feedstock.

At the same time, vegetable oil markets are also firming, with rapeseed oil strengthening while palm oil prices remain comparatively weaker, reshaping spreads across the complex. This divergence is further tightening competition between the food and fuel industries, both of which rely on overlapping oilseed-derived inputs.

The protein market is following a similar pattern, with European poultry meal prices strengthening amid steady feed and pet food demand and tighter global availability of fishmeal from South America. This is pushing buyers toward alternative local protein sources, further increasing pressure on shared agricultural by-products.

Taken together, SAF, vegetable oils and protein markets are all moving in the same direction: toward structurally tighter feedstock availability and sustained price pressure. Even isolated price moves in one segment are increasingly transmitting quickly across the others due to their shared dependence on a constrained pool of biological raw materials.

Tags: EU, prices, edible oils, biofuel, used cooking oil