China private crushers buy Australian canola, first deals since 2020

Chinese crushers buy new-crop Australian canola for March shipment

Purchase comes after old-crop cargo arrived in early September

By Naveen Thukral, Ella Cao and Peter Hobson

SINGAPORE/BEIJING/CANBERRA, Sept 23 (Reuters) - A private Chinese crusher bought 68,000 metric tons of new-crop Australian canola for March shipment, after a similar cargo purchased by another private processor arrived earlier this month, trade sources said, in the first such deals since trade was disrupted in 2020.

"Old crop trade was dominated by COFCO but there some interest from private sector in new-crop Australian canola," said one Asia-based trader.

The new-crop deal was done around $730 per ton, including cost and freight, the source said.

The two deals are the first known purchases by private buyers since Australian canola was effectively shut out of China in 2020, largely because of phytosanitary restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of fungal plant disease.

The cargo that arrived earlier in September is from old crop. Australia's canola harvest will start in October and run through December.

The Australian agriculture ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Beijing began reopening canola trade with Canberra around mid-2025, initially through trial purchases by state-owned trader COFCO, amid a trade dispute between China and Canada. Private crushers remained excluded until Beijing expanded access in July.

China is the world's biggest importer of canola, also called rapeseed. Canada is the world's biggest exporter of canola and Australia is the second-biggest.

Canola is crushed to produce meal, which is used as an animal feed ingredient, and oil, which is widely used for cooking.