India increases soybean oil imports from Ukraine more than thirtyfold, all supplied by Kernel

Ukraine’s soybean oil exports in the 2024/25 season surged sharply — from September to July, shipments reached 484,000 tonnes, up 51% from 320,000 tons a year earlier, according to analysts at ASAP Agri. The growth was largely driven by exports to the European Union, with Poland leading as the top importer at over 316,000 tons.

India emerged as the key buyer outside the EU, especially in the first quarter of 2025. Over the season, Ukraine exported 36,700 tons of soybean oil to India, compared with less than 1,000 tons during the same period last year — an increase of 36.7 times. All shipments were supplied by Kernel as part of combined consignments with sunflower oil.

February was a record month: Ukraine’s soybean oil exports more than doubled year-on-year to 59,000 tons (+106%). Of this volume, India received about 11,000 tons, while significant volumes also went to Saudi Arabia (4,000 tons) and other destinations.

Despite the increase, soybean oil exports still lag behind sunflower oil. From September to July of the 2024/25 season, India purchased 767,000 tons of sunflower oil from Ukraine — nearly 17% of total exports — up 55% from last year.