In 2024/25, the European Union reduced imports of 4 main vegetable oils to multi-year lows, but increased imports of meal

Changes in the legislation of EU member states regarding the use of certain types of vegetable oils as raw materials for biodiesel production, as well as a reduction in the volume of oilseed processing in Ukraine, have led to a decrease in imports of 4 types of basic vegetable oils to the European Union to the lowest level in several years.

Thus, in the 2024/25 MY, the total imports of soybean, rapeseed, sunflower, and palm oil decreased compared to the previous season from 8.8 to 7.06 million tons, Oil World reports.

Imports of palm oil decreased the most – by 24% to 3.66 million tons due to the reduction in the use of raw materials with high ILUC (agricultural change) in biodiesel production in Germany, the Netherlands and other EU countries.

Imports of sunflower oil decreased from 3.05 to 2.46 million tons due to reduced supplies from Ukraine, and rapeseed oil - to 391 thousand tons against the background of reduced rapeseed processing and exports of rapeseed oil and meal from Ukraine and the introduction of high duties by the European Union on oil from the Russian Federation and Belarus. Imports of soybean oil amounted to 710 thousand tons.

At the same time, imports of 5 main types of meals to the EU in the 2024/25 MY increased to a record 24.99 million tons. Thus, imports of soybean meal increased by 3.5 million tons compared to the previous season to 20.34 million tons due to an increase in supplies from Argentina by 2 million tons, from Brazil by 1.4 million tons, and India by 0.55 million tons, although supplies from the USA decreased by 0.4 million tons.

Imports of rapeseed meal decreased from 647 to 421 thousand tons, although an increase in supplies was recorded in the summer, mainly from Canada. Imports of sunflower meal decreased from 3.06 to 2.49 million tons, and palm kernel meal increased from 1.41 to 1.45 million tons.

Experts expect this trend to continue in the 2025/26 MY, as the rapeseed harvest in the EU will grow, and accordingly, the supply of the main raw material for biodiesel production will increase.