Louis Dreyfus expects Canadian vegetable oil to continue to flow into the US

Louis Dreyfus Holds to North American Oilseed Plans Despite Tariff Storm

Louis Dreyfus Company is pressing ahead with plans to expand its North American oilseed crushing business and expects Canadian vegetable oil to continue flowing into the United States despite tariff tensions, the global agricultural trader’s CEO said Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s use of tariffs as a key economic and diplomatic tool has damaged ties with trading partners, including neighbors Canada and Mexico.

Washington’s tariff offensive has disrupted the U.S. farm sector, which relies heavily on trade with North America, including large volumes of canola oil and fertilizer from Canada.

Uncertainty over U.S. biofuels policy after rapid investment in renewable diesel fuel using vegetable oil has also clouded the outlook for agribusiness companies.

LDC Chief Executive Michael Gelci told Reuters the company was monitoring the tariff discussions but had not yet made “any changes to the timing, scope or expectations” of its plans to expand oilseed production in North America.

He said U.S. requirements for vegetable oil imports should also cushion any tariff impact.

“From our perspective, the U.S. market is generally short of (vegetable) oil,” he said in an interview after LDC’s annual results. “So I suspect that flow will continue to find its way out of Canada.”

More broadly, LDC expects its global reach to help it withstand any tariff-related trade disruptions, he added.

Bunge, another global agricultural company, warned last month that its 2025 profits could fall to their lowest in six years, partly because of trade tensions.

LDC reported lower earnings last year as it, like its peers, was hit by lower prices for key grains.

However, the group reported a 17% rise in processing volumes, helped by investments in its supply chain and processing.

Gelci said high utilisation rates at its new oilseed crushing plant in Nansha in southern China underpin the group’s optimism about Chinese demand.

Asked about job cuts at other agribusiness groups to cut costs, Gelci said LDC had no such plans and would likely increase headcount as it integrated a number of new activities.

Tags: rapeseed oil, Canada, USA