China increases Indian rapeseed meal purchases after Canadian canola import duty

China has bought 52,000 tonnes of Indian rapeseed meal in the past three weeks, four times the amount Beijing will import from India in all of 2024, after Chinese authorities imposed a 100 percent retaliatory tariff on Canadian canola imports, industry sources told Reuters.

Rapeseed meal exports from India will help China, the world’s largest consumer, replace imports from Canada while easing pressure on domestic rapeseed prices in India, which has stockpiled large quantities of the widely used animal feed.

“Chinese buyers have started showing interest in Indian rapeseed meal in the past few weeks due to tariffs on Canadian shipments,” a top rapeseed meal exporter said.

China imposed a 100 percent retaliatory tariff on Canadian canola oil and meal imports from March 20.

The sources, who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said China had bought Indian rapeseed meal for urgent delivery at a price of between $220 and $235 a tonne (C$312 and C$333), including cost and freight.

India, the world’s third-largest rapeseed producer, has found it difficult to export significant quantities of rapeseed meal to China due to high prices.

In 2024, China imported 2.02 million tonnes of rapeseed meal from Canada, 504,000 tonnes from the United Arab Emirates and 135,000 tonnes from Russia, according to customs data. It bought only 13,100 tonnes from India.

India exported more than 2 million tonnes of rapeseed meal, but China accounted for less than 1 per cent.

“Chinese demand is huge. If its current buying momentum continues in the next few months, it could become one of the largest buyers of Indian rapeseed meal,” one of the sources said.

India’s traditional major export destinations for rapeseed meal are South Korea, Bangladesh, Thailand and Vietnam.

“India could increase supplies from around 2 million tonnes to 2.5 million tonnes this year, given the surplus in India and shortage in the global market,” said B.V. Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extraction Association (SEA).

India’s rapeseed meal stocks are expected to rise as supplies increase in the new season.

Weak local demand has pushed Indian rapeseed meal prices to around $200 a tonne free on board (FOB), down from $248 in February and $278 a year ago, according to the SEA.

Data released by Statistics Canada shows that Canada’s wheat and canola exports have accelerated in week 34 of the 2024/25 fiscal year. Total exports so far in the 2024/25 fiscal year are 6.866 million tonnes, up 70.3 per cent from the previous year and 75.2 per cent from the 2022/23 season.

Canada’s grain and oilseed marketing year (including wheat, durum, barley and canola) runs from August 1 of each year to July 31 of the following year.

According to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), canola production is projected to be 18.46 million tonnes in the 2025/26 season, up from the 17.84 million tonnes expected this season.

Despite a projected reduction in planted area compared with the previous year, Canadian canola is the main driver of overall oilseed production growth in the country, supported by improved soil moisture conditions in Saskatchewan and Alberta and expected yield gains compared with 2024-25. Canola seed exports in 2025/26 are projected to decline to 6.5 million tonnes due to increased domestic crushing capacity.

Tags: India, rapeseed meal, China