EU cuts imports of vegetable oils

According to the European Commission, there has been a serious decline in imports of vegetable oil into the Union, with figures falling by 21%. At the same time, there is an increase in imports of oilseeds and soybean meal.

EU imports of soybean oil fell by 66%, rapeseed oil by 50%, sunflower oil by 19% and palm oil by 18%.

The decrease in soybean oil imports was offset by an increase in soybean and soybean meal imports. Soybean imports this year are 7% higher than the same period last year.

Total EU oilseed imports in MY 2024-2025 are up 8% year-on-year.

EU imports of rapeseed and sunflower meal as of Nov. 24 were down 55% and 18%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. While soybean meal imports rose 25% to 7.64 million tons.

This is due to the traditional EU shortage of vegetable protein for the livestock sector. Also, the increase in demand for soybean meal caused a decrease in supply from traditional suppliers of the product. The EU imports most of its sunflower meal from Ukraine and Russia, while rapeseed meal is imported from Russia and Belarus. Earlier, the EU introduced barrier duties for exports of oilseeds and oilseed products from Russia and Belarus; the tax rate can reach 95 euros per ton depending on the specific product.

Tags: soybean oil, EU, palm oil, imports, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil