The Country That Produces The Most Canola Oil In The World

It's such a common staple, you probably don't even realize how often you cook with canola oil. This oil is considered neutral in cooking, meaning that unlike olive oil or coconut oil, it doesn't alter the flavor of dishes it's used in, and instead simply aids in the cooking process by providing a lipid for frying or baking. Canola oil is plant-based, meaning it's safe for vegetarians and vegans to use, unlike lard, which comes from animal fats, or butter, which is dairy-based. But where, geographically speaking, does your canola oil come from? It turns out, the answer to that question is probably Canada.

While you'll have to cross oceans to reach the world's top producers of olive oil, America's neighbor to the North produces more canola oil than any other country, with World Population Review estimating that, in 2024 alone, Canada produced a whopping 20 million tons of canola oil. That puts it ahead of China and India, two other major producers, and means that it produces nearly ten times as much canola oil as the United States.

It may come as a surprise to learn that the name "canola oil" is almost exclusively used in North America, including in high-producing Canada itself. Elsewhere, like in the United Kingdom, Australia, or New Zealand, you might find stores stocking rapeseed oil in their cooking sections. But are the two oils really the same?

Well, yes and no. Technically, canola is a genetically modified form of the rapeseed plant, which is itself related to mustard plants. The first canola plants were bred in the 1970s to reduce erucic acid found in the rapeseed plant, which can be harmful in large quantities, especially for children. Legally speaking, in the United States, there must be less than 2% erucic acid in the oil for it to be labeled as canola rather than rapeseed.

The name is actually a tribute to the country that produces the most of it, Canada. The word "canola" was actually a portmanteau of the words "Canada" and "ola," a form of the word oil. While the name was initially a trademark of the Rapeseed Association of Canada, it is now used throughout North America to refer to the versatile cooking oil.

While Canada is the number-one producer of canola oil by a long distance, other countries produce it as well, and the two that top the list after Canada are China, which produces 15.6 million metric tons per year to Canada's 20 million, and India, which comes in third at 12.1 million metric tons per year. These countries are some of the world's most populous, and as well as being major producers of canola oil, they are major consumers. In 2024, China was the world's leading consumer of the versatile cooking oil beloved by Bobby Flay, with the European Union taking second place.

While canola oil is famous as a cooking oil, it's also used in industrial production, and can even be found in the tires of a car. This means that canola consumption and production are about more than just favorite cooking oils in a nation's cuisine. This slippery substance can be just as important on the factory floor as it is on a heated frying pan, and top-producing countries like Canada, India, and China may intend their supply to be used for far more than just food.