ADM Suspends German Diodiesel Output

U.S. agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Co. is temporarily halting production at its biodiesel plant in Leer in Germany because of uncertainty about the future of biodiesel in the country, it said on Tuesday.

The company said it would reassess biodiesel market requirements in the third quarter of this year.

Enthusiasm for biofuels in Germany and other European Union countries has waned, with Germany scaling back usage targets in past years.

In June 2014, EU energy ministers agreed to limit production of biofuels made from food crops, responding to criticism they stoke inflation and do more environmental harm than good.

ADM has not given the Leer plant's capacity but market sources say Leer produces around 120,000 tonnes annually. ADM said it had no plans to idle other biodiesel plants in Germany.

Reporting by Michael Hogan