Canola on the Losing End of Chinese Dietary Shifts
As consumers in China opt for higher protein in their diets, the focus on protein content has trickled down to what cooking oil is chosen as well, and has canola losing market share.
The desire for more protein has canola losing ground to soybean oil, which is reflected in the estimates for Chinese imports of soybeans topping 97 million tons over the 2017/18 season.
Over the 2017/18 season, China is expected to import between 4 and 4.4 million tons of canola from Canada, according to Felix Muller, global head of softseeds for COFCO International.
In the longer term, Felix expects Chinese canola imports from Canada to see only marginal growth by 2020, rising to between 4.5 and five million tons, unless more premium outlets on the Chinese market can be found and crushing margins remain attractive, in which can Canada may be able to increase exports to 6 million tons.
.png)