Global vegetable-oil production set to hit another record high

Global output of vegetable oils is set to increase to new record highs in the 2022-’23 crop year. Production of both rapeseed and soybean oils, as well as palm and sunflower oils, will rise.

According to the latest outlook published by USDA, 2022-’23 global production of vegetable oils will amount to 219.8 million metric tons. This would be an 8.3-million-ton increase compared to 2021-’22.

Production will presumably fully cover demand of 213.6 million tons also in the current crop year.

According to investigations conducted by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (mbH), palm oil is set to remain the world’s most important vegetable oil in terms of production and consumption, with global output estimated at 79.2 million tons. This translates to a 3.2-million-ton increase over 2021-’22.

Palm oil accounts for more than 36 percent of global vegetable-oil production. Indonesia remains the largest palm-oil producer with an output of 46.5 million tons, followed by Malaysia with 19.8 million tons and Thailand with nearly 3.3 million tons.

Production of soybean oil is expected to grow 4.2 percent to 61.9 million tons and could hit a new record.

China remains the most important soybean producer with production amounting to 17.2 million tons, whereas the U.S. ranks second with nearly 11.9 million tons.

Production of rapeseed oil is seen to amount to 31.5 million tons, around 8.5 percent more than the previous crop year due to unexpectedly abundant yields and high oil contents.

Production of sunflower oil will probably expand around 1 percent to 20.1 million tons in 2022-’23, although global supply of sunflower seed is clearly short of the previous year’s figure despite an expansion in the area planted.

The Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen e. V. (UFOP) has pointed out that farmers in Germany also expanded their sunflower areas in 2022 because of persistently high prices for sunflower oil. Although not all yield expectations were fulfilled due to the extreme heat, the German sunflower hectarage for the 2023 harvest is expected to remain stable.