India has become the largest supplier of rapeseed meal to China between April and August 2025, filling the gap left by Canada after heavy Chinese tariffs halted its exports. According to the USDA’s September Oilseeds: World Markets and Trade report, China imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties of nearly 76% on Canadian rapeseed in August, following earlier 100% tariffs on rapeseed meal and oil in March. These measures now cover all Canadian canola products.
As a result, Chinese feed buyers—especially in aquaculture, where rapeseed meal serves as a cost-effective fish meal substitute—have turned to India. Canada, once the dominant supplier, saw its exports drop sharply, creating an opportunity that India quickly capitalized on. The shift is aided by weaker domestic demand in India, as livestock feeders increasingly use dried distillers’ grains due to the country’s rising ethanol blend rate.
The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India reported nearly 100,000 tonnes of rapeseed meal exports to China in July alone.
Despite this shift, China’s total rapeseed meal imports for 2025–26 are expected to reach only 2.6 million tonnes—a three-year low, though 400,000 tonnes higher than previously forecast.
Rapeseed imports are also under pressure. With Canadian supplies constrained by tariffs and Australian exports absent since 2020 due to blackleg disease, China’s 2025–26 rapeseed imports are projected at 4.1 million tonnes—a four-year low and 700,000 tonnes below earlier estimates.
India’s growing role highlights shifting global trade flows as geopolitical and phytosanitary issues reshape agricultural markets.
