Australia remains primary rapeseed supplier to EU

According to data from the EU Commission, EU-27 rapeseed imports from non-EU countries during the 2024-’25 season clearly exceeded the previous year’s volume of 5.7 million metric tons, reaching 7.3 million tons. 

This increase in import demand was mainly driven by a reduction in the EU’s own harvest.

EU rapeseed imports from non-EU countries rose sharply compared to the previous year, with two trading partners standing out as key origins: Ukraine and Australia.

Also, the flow of goods changed notably.

Shipments from Australia climbed approximately 86 percent to 3.5 million tons compared to the 2023-’24 season.

In contrast, deliveries from Ukraine dropped around 24 percent, falling to 2.4 million tons.

This shift towards larger Australian imports was due to the reduced Ukrainian harvest, which amounted to 3.8 million tons—just under 1 million tons less than in 2023.

This reduction severely limited Ukraine’s export potential.

Canada also ramped up its shipments.

The country boosted delivery volumes to the EU market from 103,000 tons in the previous year to 1.05 million tons, but because Canadian farmers grow genetically modified varieties, the use of rapeseed oil derived from Canadian sources is restricted in the EU.

As a result, imports from Canada are mainly used for biofuel production.

The EU’s continued high level of import demand has prompted the Union zur Förderung von Oel -und Proteinpflanzen e. V. (UFOP) to call on rapeseed producers to fully utilize the economically sustainable potential of rapeseed cultivation in planning crop rotation for the 2026 harvest.

Failing this, the undersupply of oil mills with domestically or EU-grown rapeseed would further accelerate the shift of cultivation areas to non-EU countries such as Australia and Ukraine.

The UFOP has drawn attention to the much-improved NUTS2/GHG standard values for rapeseed used in biofuel production, following their recalculation.

The association has highlighted that German rapeseed grown on mineral soils shows the best standard values.

The UFOP has stressed that the proof of greenhouse-gas reduction requires appropriate statements in the self-certifications that must be submitted annually to traders at the cooperative and wholesale levels.