2025 Top 10 News Stories in the Vegetable Oil Industry
In 2025 the operating environment for oil extraction was extremely challenging. An increase in extraction volumes triggered by higher biofuel blending ratios in the United States led to a sharp decline in meal values, while profit margins were further eroded by higher raw material costs, lower oil content in rapeseed, and the weaker yen. These pressures were compounded by rising logistics and other costs, making price revisions unavoidable. Although overall demand for vegetable oils increased for the second consecutive year, volumes for home use products declined amid persistently negative real wage growth since the beginning of the year and a heightened focus on cutting spending by households. With regard to climate change countermeasures, the oil refining industry moved toward revising environmental targets and advancing development initiatives focused on non-food applications. As societal efforts toward sustainable logistics gained momentum, the industry launched the YBM Conference, which is centered mainly on logistics for business-use vegetable oils. The industry also promoted a unified organization of key issues to strengthen initiatives in bulk tanker logistics for processing-use oils. The vegetable oil industry continues efforts to fulfill its responsibility to ensure the stable supply of safe and reliable products at reasonable prices, from production through distribution. The value of vegetable oils continues to expand thanks to steady support for high value-added oil types and firm recognition of the functional benefits of vegetable oils. The Top 10 News Stories in the Vegetable Oil Industry for 2025 reflect these conditions.
| Ranking | Item |
| 1 | In response to increased oilseed extraction volumes in the United States driven by higher biofuel blending ratios, meal values declined sharply. Falling meal prices caused a sharp drop in profitability for oil refiners. |
| 2 | Oil costs rose due to a combination of higher raw material costs, a decline in rapeseed oil content, the weaker yen, rising costs for logistics, packaging materials, and fuel, and weak meal prices. Oil refiners implemented price revisions with the aim of establishing appropriate pricing. |
| 3 | Although Canada’s 2025 rapeseed production is expected to exceed 20 million tons for the first time in seven seasons, supply-demand conditions remain tight due to strong domestic extraction demand in Canada driven by biofuel demand. |
| 4 | In the home use market, volumes declined amid a heightened focus on cutting spending by households. Despite these trends, high value-added oil types such as sesame and rice oils continued to expand in volume. |
| 5 | Despite expectations of a bumper harvest exceeding 1.8 million tons in Spain, production remained at roughly the same level as the previous year due to the impact of heat waves. Following poor harvests in 2022/23 and 2023/24 and higher costs resulting from euro appreciation, the olive oil market did not recover from its continued contraction. |
| 6 | With the accelerated adoption of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and biodiesel, demand for edible oils for biofuel use increased. This led to development initiatives utilizing used cooking oil and non-food oils. |
| 7 | Palm oil prices remained at elevated levels supported by Indonesia’s biodiesel policy (B50). |
| 8 | The cocoa shock, which was marked by soaring cocoa bean prices and supply concerns, has eased. Even so, prices remain high, and strong global demand continues for cocoa butter substitutes derived from vegetable oils. |
| 9 | Through collaboration among three chair and vice-chair companies and the association secretariat, the Oil Logistics Future Promotion Conference (YBM Conference) was launched with the aim of optimizing logistics for business-use products. At the same time, progress has been made in efforts to organize and address challenges related to bulk delivery. |
| 10 | The Japanese government released stockpiled rice in response to rising rice prices. Within the vegetable oil industry, rice cooking oil is attracting attention in the business-use market. |
Note: The Top 10 News stories for the year are chosen by votes from 9 oil production industry trade paper companies and the chairman of the Japan Oilseed Processors Association.
