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Biofuel specialists had another bad week on the stockmarket as they battle cost pressures from cheap US imports, higher feedstock prices and negative sentiment towards the industry.

Bateman Litwin (BNLN:AIM), the energy engineer, fell 25% to 175p after reporting a slowdown in orders for biofuels projects and the resignation of chief executive Shuki Raz. The news overshadowed plans to join the main market this year.

D1 Oils (DOO:AIM) slipped 5% to 43.5p as investment bank UBS sold down part of its holding. Karl Watkin, who founded the business but quit in early March, said he may now bid for D1. A takeover approach shouldn’t surprise, given that the company’s share price has fallen more than 85% in the past eight months.

China Biodiesel (CBI:AIM) slumped 19% to 12.5p last Friday on limited trading volume. A spokesperson said there was no reason for the fall, merely suggesting the market makers were responsible for pricing down the stock. China Biodiesel said in February that it had offset some feedstock cost pressures by increasing output of higher-value products.

Dwindling investor confidence in biofuel groups is not confined to the London market. In the US, one of the largest biofuels distributors, Renewable Energy Group, has pulled its planned IPO, blaming poor market conditions. In January, Seattle-based Imperium Renewables scrapped its $345 million market debut. While feedstock prices such as corn are spiralling upwards, one company hoping to capitalise on growing demand for biofuel ingredients is CVR Energy. The petroleum refiner hopes to spin its fertiliser production arm, CVR Partners, into a separately traded vehicle in the US. CVR believes its products will help to improve production of grains eventually processed into biofuels.