The development of agro-energy chains, in particular vegetable oil production, can represent, in Italy, an opportunity for the achievement of policy's objectives set by the European Union and for the agricultural sector. The aim of this study is to verify the existence of the "vegetable oil chain" at national and regional level, taking into account the Marche Region scenario (centre of Italy), the number of plants and their connection with the agricultural sector. From the methodological point of view, the paper evaluates trough a cost benefit analysis the economic performance of a vegetable oil plant, considering how the policies and the prices of raw materials affect it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]