EU Russian oil imports are continuing their steep downward trend through the current marketing season. According to the agency Zerno On-Line, citing data from the European Commission, EU countries imported a total of just 1,506 tons of vegetable oils from Russia over the first eight months of the season that began in July 2025. Furthermore, this sharp contraction reflects a broader pattern of decoupling between the European Union and Russian agricultural commodity supply chains.
EU Russian Oil Imports: Rapeseed and Sunflower Oil Down Sharply
The breakdown of EU Russian oil imports by product category reveals the full scale of the decline. Specifically, the 1,506 tons of total vegetable oil imports consisted of:
- 1,193 tons of rapeseed oil
- 280 tons of sunflower oil
Moreover, when compared to the same period in the previous season, the overall import volume fell by 61%. Breaking this down further, rapeseed oil imports declined by 41%, while sunflower oil imports dropped by a much steeper 83%. Consequently, sunflower oil saw the most dramatic contraction among all oil categories sourced from Russia by EU buyers.
EU Oilseed Imports From Russia Also Fall in 2025–2026 Season
The decline in EU Russian oil imports also extended to raw oilseeds. From July 2025 through February 2026, the EU reduced its oilseed imports from Russia to 108,000 tons in total. That figure represents a 35% decrease compared to the same period in the previous season. Therefore, both processed vegetable oils and raw oilseed commodities showed significant contraction in EU purchases from Russia during this period.
Russia Redirects Vegetable Oil and Oilseed Exports to New Markets
Nevertheless, Russia’s overall vegetable oil export figures returned to growth following the first quarter of the year. Earlier, analysts at OleoScope estimated total vegetable oil exports for the first three months of 2026 at 2 million tons. That represents a 19% increase compared to the same period last year. Additionally, India, China, and Algeria served as the primary destination markets for these shipments. Furthermore, exports of oilseeds also rose strongly, climbing by 29% year-on-year to reach 933,000 tons. Consequently, while EU demand for Russian oils continues to shrink, Russia has successfully redirected its export flows toward alternative buyers in Asia and North Africa.
Source: Oleoscope (Russia)