China’s rapeseed processing capacity may increase

Cargill Investments (China) Ltd. forecasts that China’s rapeseed crushing volume will grow to 3.4 million tonnes by 2026, with potential to reach 4 million tonnes.

Soybean crushing may decline slightly this year as supplies of other protein products are expected to be higher than in 2025, said Ryan Chen, director of China import and export at Cargill Investments, at an industry conference in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

China’s demand for soybean, rapeseed, palm, and sunflower oils is expected to grow 1% year-on-year in 2026.

Palm olein imports could rise to 3 million tonnes in 2026 from 2.7 million tonnes in 2025.

China’s total demand for palm products was 7.2 million tonnes; Palm olein imports totaled 2.7 million tonnes.

Consumption of cooking oil, used in the food service industry as a supplementary raw material, grew by 21% year-on-year in 2025, thanks to a favorable price gap compared to palm olein. This demand is expected to grow by another 8% year-on-year in 2026.

Hydrogenated palm oil, used in food and non-food applications, saw demand grow by 50% year-on-year in 2025; growth is expected to reach 5-6% this year.

Palm fatty acid imports are expected to rise to 420,000 tonnes this year, following a sharp 335% year-on-year increase in 2025, to fill the shortage of palm acid oil and wastewater from palm oil mills.

China’s total export volume of bioenergy feedstock is expected to grow by 5.2% year-on-year to reach 4.9 million tonnes in 2026, driven primarily by hydrolyzed vegetable oils and clean jet fuel.

China’s soybean oil exports in 2025 increased by 340% year-on-year to 560,000 tonnes, with India and South Korea the main export destinations. In 2026, exports are expected to decline to 260,000 tonnes due to competition from new soybean oil supplies from South America.

Tags: China, rapeseed, rapeseed oil, rapeseed meal