EU oilseed crushing reaches 13-year high at 39 million mt

The EU crushed 39 million mt of oilseeds in 2024, marking the highest level in 13 years, the regional association of oilseeds crushers said Jan. 30.

The EU also crushed a total of 14 million mt of soybeans during the year, the highest figure recorded in two years. Additionally, slightly over 6 million mt of sunflower seeds were crushed, also the highest in five years. In contrast, rapeseed crushing fell 2.6% to 18 million mt.

February saw the largest volume of soybean crushing, with 1.35 million mt processed, followed by December at 1.34 million mt.

Although the EU has seen an increase in the cultivation and crushing of soybeans, it still relies heavily on soybean meals supplied by Argentina and Brazil due to the limited amount of land available for soybean farming within the EU, making the EU the world's largest importer of soybean meal.

According to import data from the European Commission, domestically grown soybeans account for just over 2 million mt of the EU's total requirement of 28 million-29 million mt. In the current 2024-25 marketing year, the EU has imported more than 2 million mt of soybean meal from Argentina and more than 3 million mt from Brazil.

A market source said production of soybeans in the EU is insignificant and the increase in crushing numbers would not reduce the price of soybean meal in the region. "Domestic soybeans cannot feed the EU more than two weeks; the economic bloc relies on imports," the source said.