Browse Data and Analysis

FAS/Pretoria’s Oilseeds and Products annual report provides information on the production, supply, and distribution for soybean, sunflowerseed, and rapeseed in South Africa for marketing year (MY) 2023/24, MY 2024/25, and MY 2025/26.

Post forecasts that South Africa’s oilseed area will be maintained at elevated levels in marketing year 2024/25. South Africa’s summer rainfall oilseed crops in marketing year 2023/24 have been affected by an El Niño induced mid-summer drought, resulting in an expected major drop in crop volumes, creating an optimistic outlook for higher crop area in marketing year 2024/25.

Post estimates that South Africa will produce a record rapeseed (locally called canola) crop of 220,000 metric tons in marketing year 2023/24.

Nigeria continues to strive for self-sufficiency in oil palm production. Currently, production remains stable. Meanwhile, demand for palm oil outweighs supply. Nigeria meets the supply gap in oil palm through imports from Malaysia, China, and Côte d’Ivoire.

South Africa experienced an upward trend in oilseed production (soybeans and sunflower seeds) driven largely by rising oilseed prices, higher yielding cultivars, and a local demand-pull from investments in new oilseed processing plants.

Nigeria’s oil palm sector contributes to economic development at all levels – national and state. Currently, the country's demand for palm oil outweighs its supply.

Post predicts that South Africa’s positive trend in soybean plantings will continue in the 2021/22 MY in line increased local crushing capacity.

In the 2020/21 MY, Post forecasts that South Africa's oilseed meal imports will drop by 8 percent to 550,000 tons and oilseed oil imports will decline by 5 percent to less than 400,000 tons...

In June 2019, the Nigerian government formulated a new policy to invest some $500 million in expanded palm oil production.

Post forecasts that South Africa’s oilseed meal imports will drop by 25 percent to 495,000 tons in the 2019/20 MY, as a record of 1.3 million tons of oilseed meal will be produced locally.

South Africa produced a historical-high summer oilseed crop of 2.5 million tons in the 2017/18 MY with a further increase in oilseed production projected for the 2018/19 MY to 2.6 million tons.

Post forecasts that a record area of 1.6 million hectares will be planted with oilseeds in South Africa later in 2018, for the 2018/19 MY, which is predominantly driven by increased soybean plantings.