A company with a real niche market in Australia has resumed operations. The country’s only biodiesel producer is jumping on a low Australian dollar and restarting exports.

Australian Renewable Fuels Limited (ARFuels) says it has a load of over 5 million litres of biodiesel en route to the USA, with another 5 million to follow. The shipments are heading to Valero Energy and Gavilon Inc, two of the world’s leading energy companies.

“This competitive advantage will be enhanced by the recent drop in the value of the Australian dollar and further export opportunities are actively being explored,” says ARFuels CEO and Managing Director Andrew White.

The recommencement of exports is a significant point for the company and Australian biofuel industry, with production grinding to a near complete halt in 2011 and 2012 due to international market pressures; “production is below capacity due to slow sales demand which has been inhibited by the lack of biodiesel infrastructure at the mainstream diesel terminals in WA,” White said, “the investment in the new blending facility in WA combined with Picton’s contribution to the export program will lift its production.”

ARfuels' three plants - in South Australia, Western Australia and NSW - have a combined annual fuel production capacity of 150 million litres of biodiesel. Made from 100 percent renewable resources, biodiesel is celebrated as an alternative clean-burning fuel with a growing market worldwide.