Moldova exported only 4.82 thousand tons of soybean oil between January and October, compared to 7.81 thousand tons in the same period in 2024. The drop amounted to 38.3%.
The drop in exports is due, among other things, to a reduction in soybean processing due to a lack of raw materials. Since September 2025, Ukraine has imposed a 10% duty on soybean exports. This measure led to a significant increase in the cost of importing this raw material – including for Moldovan processors.
As a result, some of them have been pushed out of the zone of competitiveness by the rise in the price of imported raw materials. The local industry, heavily dependent on Ukrainian soybeans, immediately felt the consequences. Currently, Moldovan processors work on domestic soybean, the volumes of which are limited (as this crop is grown in relatively small quantities only in some northern regions of the country).
According to Iurie Rija, an expert in agro-marketing, despite the modest volumes of export supplies, soybean oil is an important product of the Moldovan oil and fats industry in terms of diversification of the assortment and geography of sales. In October this year, the products were sold on the markets of two countries – Romania and Greece. The average selling price amounted to 19.9 lei/kg, which is 10% lower than the price of sunflower oil, but 13% higher than that of rapeseed oil.
Export operations with soybean oil in October were carried out by three Moldovan companies. The leader was the company ScOlseg-Vt SRL.
Over the previous four years, soybean oil exports from RM had an upward trend, increasing from 1.12 thousand tons in 2021 to 9.03 thousand tons in 2024. This dynamic reflected both the expansion of domestic processing and the availability of raw materials. Average export prices fluctuated significantly during this period, decreasing from 26.7 lei/kg in 2022 to 12.9 lei/kg in 2024 – in the context of the transformation of the global situation on vegetable oil markets.
