Chinese private crushers return to Australian canola after five-year gap
Private Chinese crushers have bought Australian canola for the first time since 2020, with a new-crop cargo booked for March and an old-crop shipment already delivered.
Private processors in China have moved back into the Australian canola market, striking their first known purchases since trade was disrupted in 2020.
A private Chinese crusher bought 68,000 metric tons of new-crop Australian canola for shipment in March, trade sources said. The deal was concluded at around $730 per ton on a cost-and-freight basis. A separate private processor had earlier taken delivery of an old-crop cargo that arrived in early September.
Together, the two transactions mark the first purchases by private buyers since Australian canola was effectively shut out of China five years ago, when phytosanitary restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of a fungal plant disease curtailed the trade.
"Old crop trade was dominated by COFCO but there some interest from private sector in new-crop Australian canola," one Asia-based trader said.
Beijing began reopening the canola trade with Canberra around mid-2025, initially through trial purchases by the state-owned trader COFCO, as a trade dispute between China and Canada unfolded. Private crushers remained excluded until Beijing widened access in July.
Australia's canola harvest is due to begin in October and run through December. The Australian agriculture ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China is the world's largest importer of canola, also known as rapeseed. Canada is the biggest exporter of the crop, with Australia second. Canola is crushed to produce meal, an ingredient in animal feed, and oil, which is widely used in cooking.