EU rapeseed imports lag 24% behind previous year

At just under 5.7 million tons, EU rapeseed imports from third countries are well behind the previous year’s volume of 7.5 million tons, i.e. by 24%.

When it comes to origin, two trading partners stand out in particular: Ukraine and Australia. At the same time, the flow of goods has changed significantly. While shipments from Ukraine were about 6% higher at nearly 3.2 million tons, shipments from Australia were about 43% lower at just under 1.9 million tons. The reason for the lower imports from Down Under is the lower rapeseed crop, which totaled 4.9 million tons and was about 1.2 million tons lower compared to the 2022/2023 marketing year. This significantly limited export potential.

EU rapeseed imports to the EU from Moldova tripled to almost 250,000 tons. It can be assumed that most of it came from Ukraine. Canada, on the other hand, supplied only 100,000 tons, 59% less than in 2022/23. The increase in domestic consumption and exports to the US – both for biofuel production – is noticeable here. Canada’s harvest in 2023 was 18.3 million tons, even more than the previous year.

Tags: Ukraine, EU, Canada, rapeseed, imports, Moldova, Australia