EU expects demand for rapeseed imports to rise after lower yields

At the end of last year, the EU Commission significantly revised its forecasts for the European rapeseed crop in 2024, lowering it to 17.2 million tons. Given the smaller crop, rapeseed processing is expected to be 23 million tons.

The EU depends on more commodities from abroad. The biggest consumers are German oil mills with a processing capacity of around 10 million tons of rapeseed. While Ukraine dominated the list of source countries in the first half of the fiscal year, Canada and Australia are increasingly taking center stage by the end of the year, notes the Union for Oilseed and Grain Promotion, founded by the German Farmers’ Association (UFOP).

From the beginning of MY 2024/25 to January 19, 2025, 3.4 million tons of rapeseed were imported into the EU-27, 5% more than in the same period last year. With a volume of 2.2 million tons and an import share of 63%, Ukraine remains the most important country of origin, as in previous years. Its shipments exceed the previous year’s volume of 2.1 million tons.

The second half of the fiscal year will see an increasing wave of imports from Australia, UFOP notes. By mid-January, the country had already delivered 875,000 tons of rapeseed to the EU market. According to a study by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (mbH), this is about 19% more than in the same period last year. With a share of almost 26%, Australia remains the second most important supplier of rapeseed to the EU, followed by Canada with 144 thousand tons.

Due to the GMO varieties grown in Canada, rapeseed oil produced from them cannot be used without restrictions in the EU. Thus, imports are primarily used for biofuel production. At the same time, as the union notes, the supply of organic rapeseed from Serbia and Moldova has decreased this year, the countries sent only a small part of the previous year’s volume.

Earlier, ABARES raised its forecast for Australian rapeseed production in MY 2024/25 to 5.6 million tons, 8% above the MY 2023/24 crop and 10% above the 10-year average.

Tags: EU, rapeseed