Changes in the Vegetable Oil Market, with Particular Emphasis on Market Instability in Relation to the War in Ukraine

Abstract

In the 21st century, the global production and consumption of oilseeds and their processing products are growing dynamically as a result of the globally growing demand for food and renewable energy. Globally, supply and demand factors have changed the edible vegetable oils industry. The production of vegetable oils is characterized by one of the highest dynamics among all agricultural raw materials, which results from the growing demand for vegetable oils for food, industrial purposes and the growing demand for protein feed. The cultivation of oilseeds plays an important role in Polish agriculture. On an industrial scale, the production of rapeseed oil dominates in Poland, and is a strategic product of the Polish agri-food sector. Sunflower and soybean oils are also of market importance. The scale of crude rapeseed oil production ranks Poland third in the European Union (after Germany and France) and sixth in the world. The country's share in EU rapeseed oil production is about 13%. Poland, despite the dynamic development of rapeseed production and processing which took place after 2004, has low self-sufficiency in the field of oilseed products, especially low in the field of oilseed meals (self-sufficiency at the average level of approx. 43% in 2018-2020) and oils vegetable crops (self-sufficiency at the average level of approx. 63%); therefore, it remains a permanent, large net importer.