Bulgaria increases rapeseed production and processing of imported raw materials

Bulgarian farmers have increased the area sown with winter rapeseed for the 2026 harvest by 55% (compared to the previous year) to 156.5 thousand hectares. It is not yet known how the crops will survive the winter, but farmers hope that weather conditions in the winter will be favorable, like last year, and crop losses will be minimal. Currently, rapeseed crops are entering the rosette phase, and favorable weather is expected in the near future.

In the 2025/26 MY, Bulgaria imported 133.6 thousand tons of rapeseed, which is in line with the previous season. In December, the first shipment of canola of this season arrived from Canada.

In the 2024/25 MY, Bulgarian processors received the first trial batch (20 thousand tons) in October, and imported 200 thousand tons in the second half of the season.

According to UkrAgroConsult, imports of Ukrainian rapeseed oil in November amounted to 13.8 thousand tons and in December – 14.5 thousand tons.

By December, Bulgarian plants were processing 1.2-1.5 thousand tons of rapeseed per week. In previous years, processing activity increased already in November, but this year it was affected by the general situation with rapeseed products in the EU.

A high rapeseed harvest and low demand from the US and China are forcing Canada to reorient its supplies to the EU. In addition to rapeseed, Canada is actively supplying rapeseed meal to the EU.

Prices for rapeseed meal and oil are trending downward, and active imports of meal make it difficult to sell domestically processed products, as evidenced by Bulgaria's increase in imports of rapeseed oil from Ukraine.

Further developments will be influenced by Canada's relations with the US and China, which could change the sales flows of processed products and the prospects for imports of Australian canola into the EU.