Used cooking oil refers to the general term for non-edible animal and vegetable fats and various oil-water mixtures. This includes oils and fats that undergo chemical degradation due to heating, prolonged storage, or accumulation of pollutants and are no longer suitable for food processing, such as oils and fats that have been fried and cannot be consumed, oils and fats in kitchen waste, oil-water mixtures, and oils and fats produced after separation and treatment by oil-water separators, oil separators, etc. Used cooking oil mainly comes from household cooking, catering services, and food processing industries.

Overview of Market Development

At present, the main source of used cooking oil in South America is the waste generated from edible oil consumption, and its resource quantity is closely related to the consumption of edible oil. With the increasing consumption of edible oil in South America, the production of used cooking oil is also expected to increase. According to our research data, the estimated market size of used cooking oil in South America in 2024 is $42.30 million, an increase of 4.88% compared to 2023.

In terms of prospects, the South American used cooking oil market has development potential. With the increasing awareness of environmental protection and the promotion of renewable energy policies, the market demand for used cooking oil as a raw material for renewable energy such as biodiesel is expected to continue to grow. At the same time, South America can also learn from the successful experiences of other regions around the world, strengthen the collection and utilization of used cooking oil, and promote further market development. It is expected that by 2029, the market size of used cooking oil in South America will continue to increase to $53.03 million. The CAG for 2024-2029 is estimated to be 4.63%.

Segmented Market Analysis

From the perspective of product types, currently, the South American used cooking oil market mainly includes two product types: used vegetable oil and used animal oil. Among them, used vegetable oil dominates the market, with an expected market share of 81.35% by 2024.

From the perspective of downstream application patterns, used cooking oil is mainly used in the fields of biodiesel, animal feed, and oleo chemicals. Among them, the biodiesel field is the largest downstream application market, with an estimated application share of 53.17% in 2024.

 

Source: www.globalmarketmonitor.com

Market Analysis of Major Countries

From a national perspective, Brazil is the largest consumer market for used cooking oil in South America. Data shows that the estimated consumption of used cooking oil in Brazil in 2024 is 40.9k tons, accounting for an estimated 47.17% of the total consumption in South America.

South America Used Cooking Oil Consumption and Proportion by Country Forecast in 2024

Countries	Consumption (K Tons)	Proportion
Brazil	40.9	47.17%
Others	45.8	52.83%