Rapeseed Oil Price Today - View Live Price South Africa ☑️ (2026)

Rapeseed oil is categorised as an oilseed, referring to seeds or crops cultivated primarily for the production of edible (cooking) oils.

Quick Overview of Rapeseed Oil

✔️A description of rapeseed oil and related subjects ✔️The production of rapeseed oil ✔️Price drivers of rapeseed oil as a commodity Trading rapeseed oil as a commodity The uses of rapeseed oil Did you know?

A description of rapeseed oil and related subjects

The category of oilseeds is one of various types of agricultural commodities, including:

Dairy products, for example, cheddar cheese, dry whey, and certain classes of milk.
Cereal grains, for instance, corn, wheat, and oat.
Meat, amongst others, live cattle, and lean hogs.
Soft commodities include, inter alia, cocoa, coffee, and black and green tea.
Miscellaneous agricultural commodities, are commodities that do not fit into one of the other types of agricultural commodities. Examples are fine and greasy sheep wool, and natural and synthetic rubber.

Put simply, agricultural commodities are products that derive from the growing of crops, and/or animal husbandry. Rapeseed oil is a vegetable oil, just like olive oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, and soybean oil. It is considered the third most used vegetable oil in the world, after palm oil and soybean oil. It is regarded as the ‘olive oil of Northern Europe.’

Characteristics of rapeseed oil

It has a very mild flavour.
Rapeseed oil is a versatile cooking oil.
The oil has a high smoke point, meaning it can be cooked to high temperatures and will not burn until around 204 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit).
It is an excellent source of vitamin E, and it is high in omega-6 fats.

Brief description of the rapeseed plant The rapeseed plant (Brassica napus) belongs to the Brassicaceae family (the mustard family), together with mustard, cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli. The name ‘rapeseed’ derives from the Latin for ‘turnip’ (rapa, rapum). It is also known under names like rape, oilseed rape, and colza. Rapeseed is an annual plant, growing 30 centimetres or taller. Its leaves are smooth and bluish-green. The plant has golden-yellow flowers. It typically blooms in the summer. Rapeseed oil or canola oil? Canola is a type of rapeseed which was developed in Canada by two Canadian researchers, Baldur Stefansson, and Keith Downey in order to reduce the undesirable amount of erucic acid in rapeseed. To be called canola, the oil’s erucic acid level must not exceed 2 percent and it must meet internationally regulated standards. The name ‘canola’ is a contraction of the words ‘Canadian oil, low acid’ and was registered in 1979 in Canada. In some countries, the term ‘rapeseed oil’ is used to refer to the oil for industrial uses (mainly in the automotive and chemical industries), while ‘Canola oil’ is used to indicate the edible cooking oil. However, notwithstanding the regulations mentioned above, in numerous countries ‘rapeseed oil’ is usually used interchangeably to refer to the oil’s industrial uses as well as its uses as an edible cooking oil.

The production of rapeseed oil

1. Leading producers of rapeseed Statista indicated the following countries as the leading producers of rapeseed in the 2020/2011 season: Canada, the European Union (EU), China, and India. The global production of rapeseed oil amounted to nearly 29.2 million metric tonnes in 2020/2021, according to Statista.

2. The rapeseed oil refining process There are basically four steps involved in the refining process of rapeseed oil: pre-treatment, dehulling, oil extraction, and oil purification.

Pre-treatment

This is the first step to preparing the seeds for the extraction of oil. The process uses energy to rapture the walls of the seeds. This can be done mechanically via grinding, breaking, rolling, and pressing the seeds. A hydraulic press can also be utilised to break the cells of the seeds.

Dehulling

Dehulling refers to the process of removing the outer layer (hull) of the seeds, in order to remove fibre and other pigments that can reduce the value of the rapeseed oil. The process includes dehulling, cooking, and removing the hulls.

Extraction of oil

Several methods can be used to extract oil from the seeds, including cold pressing and filtration, or by the application of heat and pressing the seeds.

Oil purification

Finally, the raw (unrefined) oil needs to be refined to meet high-quality standards. Natural impurities such as dirt, fatty acids, and water, are removed by applying refining processes such as drying, neutralization, deodorization, and degumming. Also, decolourization is applied to improve the colour of the oil.

Rapeseed Oil

Price drivers of rapeseed oil as a commodity

As of 24 October 2022, ‘Rapeseed Oil decreased 109.25 EUR/T or 14.49% since the beginning of 2022, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity,’ according to Trading Economics. In a ‘Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020 - 2031’ of the Rapeseed Oil Market (published in March 2022), Allied Market Research (AMR) mentioned that the global rapeseed oil market forecast (2022 - 2031) is based on, others, the following segments:

Types, of which processed rapeseed oil makes up almost 89 percent of the rapeseed oil market share.

Applications include food processing, biofuel, and cosmetics and personal care. The food processing industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6 percent during the period of 2022 - 2031.

Regions

North America, comprising Canada, the USA, and Mexico.
Latin America, Middle East, and Africa (LAMEA), including countries like Paraguay, Argentina, Ethiopia, Israel, and Iran, to name a few.
Europe where the growth in the use of rapeseed oil in the production of biodiesel drives the global rapeseed oil market. Europe accounts for more than sixty percent of the rapeseed oil produced to manufacture biodiesel.
Asia-Pacific including countries such as China, India, Indonesia, and Japan. This region is the major contributor to the rapeseed oil market where rapeseed oil is primarily used for food processing.

China is the major consumer of rapeseed oil, accounting for approximately 33 percent of the global rapeseed oil market concerning volume. The country is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period, while Indonesia’s consumption is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.5 percent during 2022 to 2031, according to AMR.

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Trading rapeseed oil as a commodity

Trading instruments that can be used to trade rapeseed oil as a commodity are, amongst others:

Rapeseed oil futures contracts are traded on the Euronext (European New Exchange Technology) Exchange, a pan-European bourse, situated in Paris.

According to Euronext, the specifications for the contracts are, amongst other specifications:

Unit of trading: 20 tonnes
Pricing unit: Euro and euro cents per tonne

Quality: ‘Crude degummed rapeseed oil of good merchantable quality, guaranteed unbleached, produced from non-GM double zero rapeseed varieties as per EU regulations of sound, loyal and merchantable quality, all duties and taxes paid.’

In addition, the oil must meet, inter alia, the following requirements:

Moisture, volatile matter, and impurities maximum 0.4%
Erucic acid maximum 2%
Flashpoint minimum 250°F (121°C)

Rapeseed oil options

Additional information about rapeseed oil trading can be obtained from a commodity broker such as AvaTrade.

The uses of rapeseed oil

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), the top importers of rapeseed oil in 2020 were: China ($1.66 billion), the USA ($1.58 billion), the Netherlands ($998 million), Norway ($431 million), and Germany ($369 million). The OEC also mentioned that the total trade of rapeseed oil amounted to $7.91 billion in 2020, making it the world’s 370th most traded product.

As industrial oil

Rapeseed was originally produced as a fuel for oil lamps, and later as a lubricant for machinery. It is still used for chainsaws. The esterified form of rapeseed oil can be converted into biodiesel which can be used straight into heated fuel systems or in newer engines of vehicles without engine damage. In its pure form, biodiesel can also be used as a lubricant for jet engines. As biodiesel, rapeseed oil is also frequently mixed with fossil-fuel diesel in ratios varying from 2 percent to 20 percent biodiesel. The oil is also blended with petroleum distillates for powering the engines of older motor vehicles. Rapeseed oil is also used in cosmetics and personal care products.

As culinary oil

As a culinary oil, rapeseed is also called canola oil, rapeseed 00 oil, low erucic acid rapeseed oil, and LEAR (Low Erucic Acid, Rape) oil. It is used in salad dressings, marinades, and dips. Northern Europeans pour it over their soups, pancakes, and seafood. The high smoke point of rapeseed oil makes it an ideal oil for deep-frying and searing foods. It can also be used instead of butter or baking margarine in baking.

Did you know?

Flowers of rapeseed plants produce large amounts of nectar, which bees use to produce honey with a peppery taste.
The rapeseed crop is commonly called mustard in India.

Note: This article does not constitute investment, financial or trading advice. Please obtain the advice of a professional and regulated commodity broker before making trading and investment decisions.