Ukraine Is Pushing russia Out of China’s Sunflower Meal Market
China doubled its imports of sunflower meal in the 2025/26 marketing year following the suspension of Canadian canola meal supplies. At the same time, Ukraine and Kazakhstan increased their shares in supplying this product to the Chinese market, while russia’s share declined.
These figures were presented by Svitlana Kyrychok, oilseed market analyst at IA «APK-Inform», during the international industry event FOC 2026: Fats and Oils Conference.
Citing ITC data, the analyst noted that during the first seven months of the current season China imported 1.2 million tonnes of sunflower meal from Ukraine. As a result, Ukraine accounted for 72% of China’s total sunflower meal imports, maintaining its position as the leading supplier.
For comparison, during the same period of the previous season, Ukraine’s share stood at 57%, with exports totaling 461 thousand tonnes.
russia ranked second among sunflower meal exporters to China. Between September and March of the 2025/26 marketing year, China imported 182 thousand tonnes of russian sunflower meal, representing 11% of total imports. During the same period a year earlier, imports from russia amounted to 205 thousand tonnes, with a market share of 25%.
Kazakhstan moved into third place among the largest suppliers of sunflower meal to the Chinese market, overtaking Bulgaria. China imported 154 thousand tonnes of Kazakh sunflower meal, accounting for 9% of total imports. In the previous season, these figures stood at 36 thousand tonnes and 5%, respectively.
Imports from Bulgaria reached 133 thousand tonnes this season, representing 8% of China’s total sunflower meal imports, compared to 103 thousand tonnes and 13% during the same period of the previous season.
