The new diesel classification
The Ministry of Finance adjustment table deletes the previous diesel subheading and introduces two replacements. Printed page 38 of Annex 4 gives the correspondence:
| Previous classification | New classification | Product |
|---|---|---|
| ex 27101923 | 27101925 | Hydrocarbon-based biodiesel |
| ex 27101923 | 27101926 | Other diesel |
The “ex” notation is essential. Neither replacement alone carries the full scope of the old diesel line. The old category should not be renamed as hydrocarbon-based biodiesel in a historical dataset, even if that is the product an analyst now wants to study.
The change is also separate from a change in tariff rates. A newly created statistical distinction does not, by itself, demonstrate that an exporter received a tax advantage or that a destination changed its import policy. Those claims need their own evidence.
Why “hydrocarbon-based” belongs in the title
The official category contains a qualification that matters for research. Shortening the label to “biodiesel” would imply a broader scope than the adjustment table establishes. Keep the full product name in chart legends, downloads and dataset descriptions, even when a shorter search phrase brings a reader to the page.
Similarly, this line should not automatically be relabelled as all HVO, renewable diesel or every biofuel sold under a commercial description. The adjustment table supplies the tariff category and its predecessor; it does not provide a comprehensive mapping of industrial terminology, production processes or certification schemes.
For a market-wide biodiesel study, first define which products belong in the research basket and document their applicable classifications. Adding loosely related customs lines without checking scope can double-count products or leave gaps hidden behind an apparently precise total.
Three questions the new trade line can help answer
The published HS 27101925 export series, checked on September 15, 2026, reports $37,208,592 for January and $116,032,592 for July. July was 3.12 times January’s value, a 211.8% increase between the two months. This is not a year-on-year growth rate.
February was already $113,018,126, followed by $71,022,754 in April. July’s much higher value relative to January therefore should not be read as six consecutive monthly increases. The data supports a sizeable endpoint difference and a variable monthly path, not a specific explanation about capacity, policy or demand.
How large is the declared trade flow? Monthly export and import values provide separate views of outward and inward trade. A new code makes that measurement more specific, but the creation of the code is not proof that the measured market has expanded.
How concentrated are the destinations? Compare absolute values with destination shares over consistent periods. Repeated shipments to several markets and a one-month concentration in one market are different patterns. Neither directly identifies the final fuel user, because country-level customs records are not a customer register.
How does it compare with the residual diesel category? When both replacement lines have complete coverage, their relative values show the composition of the reconstructed diesel basket. This is a trade-value share, not a measure of renewable content in the country’s diesel consumption.
How to handle quantity and implied prices
Use the quantity field’s declared unit, not an assumed fuel-industry unit. Weight-based quantities can support value-per-weight comparisons when the period and coverage match. Mixing primary and supplementary quantity fields without checking units can produce a plausible-looking but incorrect price series.
A unit value derived from trade records also reflects the mix of shipments. Its change may be consistent with a price movement, a product-mix shift or different transaction terms. Customs data alone cannot separate those explanations or establish producer profitability.
Building a history without inventing one
A same-code series begins with the new classification in 2026. Treat unavailable earlier observations as unavailable, not as zero. A calculation of year-on-year growth against the old 27101923 total would measure a scope change as well as any commercial change.
Combining 27101925 and 27101926 can support investigation of the broader predecessor basket, provided coverage and statistical definitions are consistent. That reconstruction still cannot recover the biofuel component of the earlier diesel total.
Read the related bio-aviation kerosene analysis for the aviation-fuel split, or return to the 2026 new-code tracker.