Australia may overtake Ukraine to become the leading supplier of rapeseed to the EU

In the period from July 1 to March 12, the EU countries imported 5.7 mln tonnes of rapeseed to the bloc, which is more than 1.5 times higher than the level in the same period last season, according to the updated data of the European Commission. In the reporting period, Ukraine imported the most oilseeds to the EU – 2.86 mln tonnes (50% of the total purchases). The second position is now occupied by Australia with 2.3 mln tons (41.2% share).

Industry experts do not rule out that by the end of the season Australia may overtake Ukraine and become the leading supplier of this crop to the EU amid a gradual increase in oilseed exports.

As for sunflower, the supply to the bloc reached a record 1.9 mln tonnes (+438% yoy). Here, Ukraine accounts for 87% of all shipments – about 1.66 mln tons. The country is likely to retain the “palm” this season, even if the domestic market decides to restrict the export of seeds at the legislative level.

On the contrary, soybean imports to the EU in the reporting period decreased year-on-year to 7.7 mln tons. Since July, the main volumes of beans were imported from the US and Brazil – 3.9 mln tonnes (50.9% share) and 2 mln tonnes (26.8% share), respectively. However, high volumes of the oilseed were also recorded from Ukraine, which also entered the top 3 major exporters with 835.6 thsd tonnes (10.8% share).

Tags: Australia, Ukraine, EU, rapeseed