Ukraine no longer main supplier of rapeseed to Germany
Romania became the largest supplier of rapeseed to Germany in the first half of the 2025/26 marketing year, displacing Ukraine from the leading position in this market, according to the Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants (UFOP).
German farmers harvested more rapeseed in 2025 than a year earlier. Despite the increase in domestic supply, rapeseed imports in the first half of the 2025/26 season remain strong. At the same time, exports have already exceeded last year’s levels.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, Germany imported about 3.1 million tons of rapeseed in the first half of the 2025/26 marketing year, more than 4% higher than in the same period last year. Romania became the largest supplier with 873.4 thousand tons, pushing Ukraine out of first place. For comparison, shipments from Romania totalled only 229.6 thousand tons from July to December 2024.
The increase in imports is linked to a sharp rise in production in Romania, which more than doubled its harvest and set a record. At the same time, it remains unclear to what extent the country acted as a transit hub for Ukrainian rapeseed.
Ukraine, according to official data, supplied about 752.5 thousand tons of rapeseed to Germany — 39% less than a year earlier. One of the reasons for the decline may be Ukraine’s export duties on rapeseed, soybeans, and sunflower, which have recently impacted the European market.
France, ranking third among suppliers, increased shipments to 477.1 thousand tons (+64%). The Netherlands, as a key trading hub, more than doubled its volumes. After two weak years, supplies from Canada recovered — imports totalled about 99.8 thousand tons in July–December 2025. Meanwhile, volumes from Poland, Australia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Belgium declined.
Germany remains the largest net importer of rapeseed in the EU, so exports, despite a larger harvest, remain relatively small. In the first half of the season, the country exported about 64.1 thousand tons of rapeseed — 87% more than last year. The main destinations are EU countries, particularly Poland (34.6 thousand tons), the Netherlands (7.3 thousand tons), and France (5.2 thousand tons).
