Poland’s oilseed processing industry has warned of a looming rapeseed shortage that could threaten the country’s production capacity and competitiveness, unless the government lifts its ban on Ukrainian imports.
In a letter sent to Prime Minister Donald Tusk this week, the Polish Oil Producers Association (PSPO), which represents 95% of domestic processors, called for urgent changes to a regulation imposed by the Ministry of Development and Technology in September 2023 that blocks agricultural imports from Ukraine — including rapeseed.
According to PSPO estimates, Poland faces a rapeseed deficit of at least 500,000 tonnes in the 2025/26 season, following what the industry describes as already “extremely difficult” conditions for domestic processors. The shortfall could force Polish factories to cut capacity and risk being undercut by cheaper imports of finished oil products from neighbouring EU countries.
“2023 and 2024 were record years for rapeseed crushing and oil production in Poland,” the association noted in its letter. Last year alone, PSPO members processed more than 3.66 million tonnes of rapeseed, producing 1.6 million tonnes of oil and 2.1 million tonnes of protein feed — volumes made possible by an exceptionally strong harvest. But those reserves are now dwindling.
PSPO Director General Adam Stępień argues that the current import ban on Ukrainian rapeseed is undermining Polish processors while still allowing Ukrainian oil to enter the EU market — a situation he says leaves local firms at a disadvantage.
“If Polish plants run out of raw material, there’s a real risk that rapeseed oil and protein feed will simply be imported from elsewhere,” Stępień said. He warned that falling domestic processing would also deepen Poland’s dependency on soybean imports for animal feed.
Poland’s Ministry of Development told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that any decision on lifting the ban remains on hold until Warsaw has more clarity on the EU’s revised trade arrangements with Ukraine under the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA).
Stępień insists that reopening the border for Ukrainian rapeseed would not harm Polish farmers, arguing that domestic harvests would still be fully purchased at European benchmark prices. But if the ban remains, he warns, Poland’s once-competitive crushing plants could face forced cutbacks and job losses — and, in turn, farmers could lose a key buyer for future harvests.
While some Polish farmers remain sceptical after the 2022 crisis — when record Ukrainian grain imports created temporary gluts and triggered protests — the PSPO says that situation is unlikely to repeat. Ukraine now has alternative export routes through the Romanian port of Constanța, making the land corridor through Poland a less attractive option.
Germany, meanwhile, has continued to be a major buyer of Ukrainian rapeseed, benefiting from crushing capacities that exceed its domestic supply by more than double.
For now, Poland’s oilseed processors are left waiting for the government to act — and warn that every month of delay could push the country’s once-thriving industry closer to crisis.