EU demand for rapeseed imports declines due to improved supply situation

According to European Commission estimates, the rapeseed harvest in the EU-27 totaled around 20.16 million metric tons in 2025.

This translates to a significant increase in supply compared to the previous year’s substandard 16.77 million tons.

With the rapeseed-processing volume expected to reach around 24.68 million tons, it also makes the EU less dependent on imports.

Cumulative imports into the EU-27 in the first half of the crop year 2025-’26 amounted to approximately 1.85 million tons, representing a nearly 43 percent decline from the previous year’s level of 3.23 million tons.

Ukraine remains the leading supplier country with just over 1.06 million tons to date and a 57 percent share of imports.

Nevertheless, the country’s shipments remain clearly below the previous year’s volume of 2.02 million tons.

The second wave of imports from Australia will increasingly come into focus later on in the season.

By January, Australia had placed 249,869 tons of rapeseed on the EU market, ranking second among the major countries of origin with a share of just under 14 percent, but trailing well behind Ukraine.

According to investigations conducted by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (mbH), deliveries remained approximately 71 percent below the level recorded in the reference period.

Canada continued to lose market share. The country delivered 140,915 tons of rapeseed to date, which compares to 161,347 tons the previous year.

Because Canadian farmers grow genetically modified varieties, the use of rapeseed oil derived from Canadian rapeseed is restricted in the EU.

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

By contrast, Moldova and Serbia ramped up their deliveries significantly compared to the first half of the crop year 2024-’25, supplying 247,357 tons (previous year 85,611 tons) and 114,171 tons (previous year 44,501 tons), respectively.

Some of the rapeseed imports declared as Moldovan are likely to be of Ukrainian origin, reflecting changes in transit and trade routes.