Lang
Irregular and unstable sunflower seed supplies from farmers prevented oilseed processing companies from building sufficient stocks during the last marketing year, 2024/25, which ended on 1 July 2025. Some processors stopped crushing sunflower seed and switched to soybeans, while others simply shut down due to a lack of economic viability. This is according to a report from the press office of the Ukroliaprom association.
It is worth noting that in the last marketing year, plants were unable to attract rapeseed for processing because of its intensive exports, which accounted for nearly 90% of production.
Analysts point to a significant increase in soybean crushing, which exceeded 2.6 million tonnes, along with record growth in the production and export of soybean oil and meal. Soybean oil exports in the 2024/25 marketing year rose by 52.5% in volume and 98% in value compared with the same period of the 2023/24 marketing year. Soybean meal exports increased by more than 95% and 54.4% respectively.
Ukroliaprom stresses that this reflects strong demand for soybean oil and meal in many countries around the world, including the European Union, as well as unique opportunities to increase domestic processing of raw materials and boost production and exports of high value-added products.
New duties on soybeans and rapeseed
Analysts note that for the new 2025/26 marketing year, the main advantage is the creation of conditions in Ukraine to maximise the processing of rapeseed and soybeans domestically.
Ukroliaprom states that, as of 4 September 2025, a 10% export duty was imposed on soybeans and rapeseed.
The rapeseed processing season for the 2025 crop began in July of this year. In July-August, only about 60,000 tonnes of rapeseed were crushed into oil, allowing for the production and export of 25,000 tonnes of rapeseed oil.
In September 2025, with the export duty on rapeseed in place, processing at domestic companies rose to a record monthly volume of 250,000 tonnes, the highest on record.
Output reached 120,000 tonnes, of which 108,800 tonnes were exported, worth US$121.9 million. Compared with the same period last year, this represented growth of 2.8 times and 3.3 times respectively. The cost per tonne of exported oil in the current marketing year rose compared with the previous year to US$1,120.4 per tonne, an increase of US$171.4 per tonne.
In September 2025, the main consumers of Ukrainian rapeseed oil were European Union countries, which imported 92,000 tonnes from Ukraine, or 84.5% of the country's total exports of this product.
Among EU countries, the largest importers were:
Netherlands – 29,000 tonnes (27%)
Belgium – 15,500 tonnes (14.2%)
Spain – 14,400 tonnes (13.2%)
Poland – 13,500 tonnes (12.4%)
A further 16,800 tonnes (15.5%) were exported to other countries around the world. Notably, 13,900 tonnes (15.5%) were exported to Singapore.