Zhejiang's Blue Whale Bioenergy obtains China SAF export quota

Zhejiang's Blue Whale Bioenergy has successfully been placed on a SAF export whitelist by the Chinese authorities, the company said in a WeChat post on June 25, paving the way for its first SAF shipment in late July and making it China's sixth authorized SAF exporter.

"The joint approval by the Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Customs, the National Energy Administration, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange marks a significant milestone for the company in establishing itself as a major global supplier of SAF," the statement read.

Sources close to the matter said the company was allocated a yearly export quota of around 305,000 metric tons of SAF and that a first cargo of about 10,000 mt of SAF will be shipped at the end of July. The cargo had been sold last year but could not be shipped because the company had not been placed on the whitelist, they added.

The approval of Blue Whale Bioenergy's SAF exports brings the total number of producers authorized to export SAF from China to six, with an estimated total export capacity of 1.705 million mt/year.

Source: Data compiled by Platts, part of S&P Global Energy

Blue Whale's successful inclusion in the Chinese SAF export whitelist comes amid its application to the European Commission for new exporting producer treatment, and thus be subjected to lower duty rates normally accorded to companies that cooperated with an EU investigation regarding biodiesel and HVO imports from China.

Operations began at Zhejiang Blue Whale Bioenergy's 500,000 mt/year unit on Dec. 15, 2025, and shipped its first cargo of about 12,000 mt renewable diesel in late January 2026. The plant can produce 420,000 mt/year of HVO/SAF.

Blue Whale Bioenergy is a joint venture with a 44% interest held by Wuchan Zhongda Chemical Group, a core member of Wuchan Zhongda Group, a major Chinese bulk commodity supplier and a state-owned enterprise.

Platts had also previously reported that some Chinese market participants had seen a potential delay in the issuance of the SAF export quota whitelist to the company.

Data released by China's General Administration of Customs June 20 showed China exported 100,939.54 mt of SAF in May, up 34% month over month, while HVO exports were similarly up 12% at 43,636.38 mt, Platts reported previously.

Jiangsu Province retained its position as the top SAF exporting Chinese province in May, almost tripling exports month over month to 70,799,19 mt. Almost two-thirds of Henan's SAF exports were headed to Belgium in May, while Shandong's SAF exports halved month over month in May.

As of May, total exports this year from the country would constitute 21.2% of the estimated 1.705 million mt export quota issued by the Chinese authorities.

Source: General Administration of Customs