Source: Ukragroconsult (Ukraine)
Ukraine exported a record 0.33 million tons of soybean oil to the EU in 2024, up 37% year-on-year. This occurred against the background of a general decline in imports of the four main vegetable oils to the EU, which in October-December 2024 fell to a 12-year low of 1.38 million tons (-14% year-on-year). The decline in imports was seen due to lower domestic rapeseed and sunflower oil production, as well as falling demand from the biofuels industry.
At the same time, Argentina, traditionally a major supplier of soybean oil to the EU, significantly reduced exports in this direction – to 0.14 million tons (-25%). This allowed Ukraine to take a larger share of the market and become the main exporter of soybean oil to Europe.
However, the EU market is increasingly affected by imports of used cooking oil (UCO), which reached a record 2 million tons in 2024 (+22% by 2023). The main supplies of this product come from Southeast Asia, which increases competition among biofuel feedstock suppliers and affects demand for conventional vegetable oils.