Ukraine’s Rapeseed Market: Exports Decline, Processing Gains Momentum in the 2025/26 Season

The first half of the 2025/26 season has been significant for the rapeseed market in Ukraine, marked by substantial changes in the structure of crop usage. The introduction of a 10% export duty on rapeseed has led to a shift from raw material exports to domestic processing, which has become a defining factor for the further development of the industry.

This is reported by AgroReview

Decline in Exports and Growth in Processing

Export volumes of rapeseed in the first half of the season have sharply decreased to their lowest level in recent years. This indicates a significant transformation in the market: producers are increasingly favoring the processing of rapeseed domestically. At the same time, processed products now constitute the main share of the export structure. The primary markets remain the countries of the European Union, while the role of other markets is gradually diminishing.

Prospects for the Second Half of the Season and Next Year

In the second half of the season, competition between exports and domestic processing for additional raw material volumes is expected to continue. Key factors for the 2026/27 marketing year will remain the condition of winter rapeseed after the winter period, especially in the southern regions of Ukraine, as well as the dynamics of the export duty, which affects the commercial attractiveness of external supplies.

Against the backdrop of changes in the global market environment and the weakening positions of certain competitors, Ukraine is gaining new opportunities to strengthen its presence in the EU rapeseed meal market, opening up prospects for expanding the export of processed products.

“The introduction of a 10% export duty on rapeseed has led to a structural change in the model of crop usage – from raw material exports to domestic processing.”