When the worldwide production amounts are reviewed; it is seen that most intensely produced oilseeds are soy bean, canola (rapeseed), cottonseed, peanut, sunflower and palm kernel. Gaining market value in Turkey and the world each passing day; besides oil production these products are used as raw material or as an additive in flour, feed, biodiesel industries. It is seen that oilseeds, vegetable oil and products sector in the world and Turkey have gained a great speed in the last twenty years. Competition in the sector strengthens with the access of international companies to the local markets on the supply side. From the perspective of demand; besides the countries’ increasing food demands, biodiesel demand becomes prominent. This means the allocation of oilseed production according to the needs of the food and fuel. However; when the global food need that has been increasing in the recent years and may create big problems in the underdeveloped countries is taken into consideration, it is said that the usage of oilseed production as fuel will adversely affect the agricultural sector. Besides; the researches show that if the vegetable oil in the whole world is turned into biodiesel, only one-month fuel need of the world can be met. Thus, the usage of oilseeds except for food is a serious discussion topic. When the food use of oilseeds is taken into consideration, oil production comes to the forefront. Besides oil production, some of these plants can be used as additives to the food substances. Wastes resulting from processing of these products are used as feed raw material or additive. WORLD OILSEEDS PRODUCTION When it is about oilseeds in the world; soybean, peanut, sunflower, canola (rapeseed), corn, olive, sesame, palm seed, flaxseed oil, safflower, coconut and castor oil plants come to mind. When the worldwide production amounts are reviewed; it is seen that most intensely produced oilseeds are soy bean, canola (rapeseed), cottonseed, peanut, sunflower and palm kernel. According to the 2012/13 season data of U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS); total oilseed production in the world is nearly 474 million tons. Soy bean ranks first with 267,8 million-ton production amount. Soy bean constitutes approximately 43% of world oilseed production. Canola with 62,9 million tons, cottonseed with 46,1 million tons, peanut with 39,9 million tons, sunflower with 36,3 million tons and palm kernel with 14,8 million tons follow soybean. When the leading countries in oilseed production in the world are considered; USA ranks first with 93,3 million tons of world’s total 473,9 production amount. Brazil with 84,5 million tons, China with 59,6 million tons, Argentina with 53,6 million tons and India with 36,8 million tons follow USA. The share of these 5 countries from the total production is around 69%. • World Soybean Production and Producer Countries The soybean (US) or soya bean (UK) (Glycine max) is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. The plant is classed as an oilseed rather than a pulse by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) as the seed contains 18-19% oil. Soybean has become a preferred product throughout the world because of its oil content. Approximately 85% of the world’s soybean crop is processed into soybean meal and vegetable oil. Soybean meal ,which is the material remaining after solvent extraction of oil from soybean, is an important and cheap protein source for animal feed and many varieties of ready meals. The vegetable oil obtained from soy is another important food substance formed by the processing ıf soybean. This oil is used in many industrial applications. Soybean produces much more protein per acre compared to many other crops. One of the most important products obtained from soybean is soy flour. Soy flour, which refers to soybeans ground finely enough to pass through a 100-mesh or smaller screen, is made by roasting the soybean, removing the coat, and grinding into flour. Besides these; soybean can be processed to produce a texture and appearance similar to many other foods. Soy milk, margarine, soy cream, soy yogurt, soy cheese and meat are among them. Also it is used for the production of industrial products such as oils, soap, cosmetics, plastics, crayons. Soy is the mostly grown oilseed in the world. According to USDA data; world soybean production, which was 260,4 million tons in 2009/10 season, decreased to 239,1 million tons in 2011/12 season and reached 267,8 million tons level by increasing again in 2012/13 season. The estimation of USDA for 2013/14 season points 283,5 million tons with 15,7 million-ton record increase. According to 2012/13 season data; USA (30%), Brazil (30%), Argentina (18%), China (4%) and India (4%) are major soy producers. The production amount in 2012/13 season realized by USA that makes soy cultivation in approximately 30 million hectares is around 82,5 million tons. USA is estimated to realize 88,6 million-ton production in 2013/14 season. Brazil follows USA with 27,7 million-hectare cultivation area and 82 million-ton production in 2012/13 season. Brazil is foreseen to realize 88 million-ton soybean production in 2013/14 season. Ranking third in soy production, Argentina had 19,4 million-hectare cultivation area and 49,3 million-ton production in 2012/13 season. It is seen that China had 6,7 million-hectare cultivation area and 12,8 million-ton production, India had 10,8 million-hectare cultivation area and 11,5 million-ton production in the same period. China is foreseen to realize 12,2 million-ton and India to realize 11,8 million-ton soybean production in 2013/14 season. • World Canola (Rapeseed) Production and Producer Countries Canola is a plant that is obtained by improving rapeseed and does not contain erucic acid and glucosinolate. The point that erucic acid and glucosinolate are harmful to human and animal health caused the prohibition of cultivating this plant in Turkey in 1979. However; lowering down of the erucic acid content with 45-50% in the varieties called as rapeseed in the past to 0% as a result of the improvement studies made the rapeseed to be re-produced for vegetable oil needs. As the canola was developed firstly in Canada, it was called as “canola” which was derived from “Canadian Oil Low Acid”. Canola is an oil plant with two physiological periods as winter and summer terms. Canola is an important oil plant with 38-50% oil and 16-24% protein content. Due to its neutral feature, it is used as frying or canned good oil in the food industry. Besides, it is used in biodiesel production and also as feed raw material. Canola ranks second among the oilseed plants used as vegetable oil source in terms of production amount. Annual production amount in the world is about 60 million tons. According to USDA data; world canola production, which was 61 million tons in 2009/10 season, reached 62,9 million tons in 2012/13 season. USDA estimates world canola production in 2013/14 season as 67,9 million tons. On the basis of 2012/13 season data; China ranks first in world canola production with 7,3 million-hectare cultivation area and 14 million-ton production amount. China is estimated to realize 14,2 million-ton production in 2013/14 season. Canada follows China with 8,8 million-hectare cultivation area and 13,8 million-ton production. The production amount to be realized by Canada in 2013/14 season is foreseen as 16,1 million tons. India with 6,7 million-hectare cultivation area and 6,8 million-ton production, France with 1,6 million-hectare cultivation area and 5,4 million-ton production, Germany with 1,3 million-hectare cultivation area and 4,8 million-ton production follow these countries. It is foreseen that India will realize 7 million tons, France 4,7 million tons and Germany 5,8 million tons of canola in 2013/14 season. • World Cottonseed Production and Producer Countries As a fiber plant, cotton consists of fiber and seed with a ratio of 40%. Besides it is a fiber plant, cotton is defined as a good oil plant as it has 40% oil in content. The mature seeds are brown ovoid weighing about a tenth of a gram. By weight, they are 60% cotyledon, 32% coat and 8% embryonic root and shoot. These are 20% protein, 20% oil and 3.5% starch. Fibers grow from the seed coat to form a boll of cotton lint. The boll is a protective fruit and when the plant is grown commercially, it is stripped from the seed by ginning and the lint is then processed into cotton fiber. For every hundred weight of fiber, about one hundred and sixty weights of seeds are produced. The seeds are about 15% of the value of the crop and are pressed to make oil and used as animal feed. About 5% of the seeds are used to sow the next crop. Cotton’s field of usage is quite wide. One of these fields is production of feed products for animals. Cotton seed is crushed in the mill after removing lint from the cotton plant. The seed is further crushed to remove any remaining linters or strands of minute cotton fibers. The seeds are further hulled and polished to release the soft and high-protein meat. These hulls of the cottonseed are then mixed with other types of grains in order to make it suitable for the livestock feed. The seed oil extracted from the kernels can be used as cooking oil, salad dressings. It is also highly beneficial for the production of shortening and margarine. The cottonseed meal after being dried up can be used as a dry organic fertilizer as it contains 41 percent protein and comprises other natural nutrients such as omega-9 fatty acids. The final field of cottonseeds is cosmetic products. Cottonseed is the third mostly produced oilseed plant in the world after soy and canola. According to USDA data; world cottonseed production, which was 39,5 million tons in 2009/10 season, reached to 47,4 million tons in 2011/12 season. It decreased to 46,1 million tons level in 2012/13 season. The estimation of USDA for 2013/14 season cottonseed production points an approximately 2 million-ton decrease (44,4 million tons). According to 2012/13 season data; China (29%), India (26%), USA (11%), Pakistan (8%) and Brazil (4%) are major cottonseed producers. The production amount in 2012/13 season realized by China that makes cottonseed cultivation in approximately 5,3 million hectares is around 13,7 million tons. China is estimated to realize 12,9 million-ton production in 2013/14 season. India follows China with 12 million-hectare cultivation area and 12,1 million-ton production in 2012/13 season. India is foreseen to realize 12,3 million-ton cottonseed production in 2013/14 season. Ranking third in cottonseed production, USA had 3,7 million-hectare cultivation area and 5,1 million-ton production in 2012/13 season. It is seen that Pakistan had 3 million-hectare cultivation area and 4 million-ton production, Brazil had 0,9 million-hectare cultivation area and 2 million-ton productions in the same period. Pakistan is foreseen to realize 4,1 million-ton and Brazil to realize 2,5 million-ton cottonseed production in 2013/14 season. • World Peanut Production and Producer Countries Being among the top three plants of 8 oil plants used in world vegetable oil production, peanut is an annual legume and a summer time plant. Its content includes 45-55% oil, 20-25% protein, 16-18% carbohydrate, 25% mineral. The peanut grown in the world and Turkey can be gathered under three groups as Virginia, Spanish and Valencia. Mainly Virginia-originated peanuts with semi-recumbent shape are cultivated in Turkey. As a rich Vitamin B source, peanut includes averagely 25% protein, 46% oil, 16% carbohydrate and 5% mineral in its content. Its fruits have amino acids that are rich in phosphorus. Per 100 gr peanut meat has 600 kcal energy. Depending on the varieties, the peanut meat kernel has 40-60% oil in its content. Besides being a human food, peanut is used in various fields of the industry with huge amounts. Not only peanut oil is used in solid and liquid forms in cooking, but also it is used in canned fish, biscuits, cakes, confectionery and soap production. The oil cake after the oil is extracted from the peanut is a valuable feed. Besides; as peanut is a legume, the parts of its plant are a very valuable animal feed. Although the main and by-products of peanut have wide variety of uses, most of it is consumed as nuts. Just like other legumes, peanut fixates the atmospheric nitrogen to the soil and leaves a soil rich in nitrogen and organic substances for the next plant to be cultivated. As it is an anchor plant, peanut leaves a soil that is loosened and weeded for the next plant to be cultivated. Thus it is a good crop alternation plant. It provides a good additional income for the producer as it is grown successfully as the second crop after wheat harvest. Peanut ranks fourth among the oilseed plants used as vegetable oil source in terms of production amount. Annual production amount in the world is about 35-40 million tons. According to USDA data; world peanut production, which was 35,9 million tons in 2009/10 season, reached 39,9 million tons in 2012/13 season. USDA estimates world peanut production in 2013/14 season as 39,3 million tons. On the basis of 2012/13 season data; China ranks first in world peanut production with 4,7 million-hectare cultivation area and 16,7 million-ton production amount. China is estimated to realize 16,6 million-ton production in 2013/14 season. India follows China with 5 million-hectare cultivation area and 5 million-ton production. The production amount to be realized by India in 2013/14 season is foreseen as 5,5 million tons. USA with 0,6 million-hectare cultivation area and 3 million-ton productions and Nigeria with 2,5 million-hectare cultivation area and 3 million-ton production follow these countries respectively. It is foreseen that USA will realize 1,7 million tons, Nigeria again 3 million tons of peanut in 2013/14 season. • World Sunflower Production and Producer Countries Due to its 65-70% oil content, sunflower is one of the most important oil plants of today. Sunflower oil ranks first among the vegetable oils preferred for its quality in cooking. Thus, it is cultivated in many countries throughout the world on an economic level. Although sunflower is not very selective in terms of the soil it is grown, it has high yield potential in the soil that is rich in organic substances, deep and with good water retaining capacity. It can be cultivated on any kind of soil from sandy soils to clay soils with heavy structure that have good drainage. The weight of one thousand sunflower seeds is 70 to 200 grams. The oily varieties have smaller seeds and the nut varieties have bigger seeds. The oil rate of the small seeds is more than the ones with bigger seeds. The ratio of hull in sunflower seeds is 35% and the ratio of kernel is 65%. The oil ratio of the husked ones is 45-55% and the kernel oil ratio is 65-70%. The oil obtained from sunflower is used in meals, salads, frying and canned fish; it is used for dye and soap production in the industry. It is a very nutritional animal feed as sunflower meal has a significant rate (20 percent) of protein and a little oil (1-7%). Milled floral receptacle of sunflower is used as feed for poultry, sheep and goats. The husk of the sunflower seed is used as raw material in the preparation of the yeast and the process of obtaining alcohol and furfural. Sunflower seeds are also used as nuts widely in Turkey. According to USDA data; world sunflower production, which was 32,14 million tons in 2009/10 season, reached to 40,6 million tons in 2011/12 season and decreased to 36,9 million tons level in 2012/13 season. The estimation of USDA for 2013/14 season sunflower production points an important increase with 6,3 million-ton (42,7 million tons) rate. According to 2012/13 season data; Ukraine, Russia, Argentina and China are major sunflower producers. The production amount in 2012/13 season realized by Ukraine that makes sunflower cultivation in approximately 6 million hectares is around 9 million tons. Ukraine is estimated to realize 11,5 million-ton production in 2013/14 season. Russia follows Ukraine with 6,1 million-hectare cultivation area and 7,9 million-ton production in 2012/13 season. Russia is foreseen to realize 10 million-ton sunflower production in 2013/14 season. Ranking third in sunflower production, Argentina had 1,6 million-hectare cultivation area and 3,1 million-ton production in 2012/13 season. It is seen that China had 0,9 million-hectare cultivation area and 2,4 million-ton production in the same period. Argentina is foreseen to realize 3 million-ton and China to realize 2,4 million-ton sunflower production in 2013/14 season. WORLD OILSEED TRADE The amount of oilseed subjected to world trade is 110 to 129 million tons. According to the 2012/13 season data of U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS); world oilseed trade is nearly 117 million tons. Ranking first with 97,7 million-ton import and export amounts, soy bean constitutes approximately 84% of world oilseed trade by itself. Brazil (42%), USA (36%), Argentina (8%), Paraguay (5,5%) and Canada (3,5%) are major soy exporters in the world. These 5 countries realize nearly 95% of total soy export. China is the largest soy importer. China realizes almost 63% of world soy import with approximately 60 million-ton import. European Union countries realize the largest soy import after China with 12,4 million tons. The second largest soy importer is Mexico with 3,3 million tons on country basis. Canola follows soy bean in world oilseed trade with 12,4 million tons. Canada realizes 64% of world canola export with 2,5 million-ton export. Just like in soy, China is the largest importer of canola. Peanut with 4,9 million tons, sunflower with 1,2 million tons, cottonseed with 1 million tons and copra with 0,1 million tons follow canola. When the leading countries in world import of all oilseeds are taken into account; it is seen that China realizes 63,5 million tons of total 113 million-ton oilseed import and ranks first with this import amount. European Union with 16,8 million-ton import amount, Japan with 5,5 million-ton import amount, Mexico with 5,1 million-ton import amount, Taiwan with 2,4 million-ton import amount, Indonesia with 2,2 million-ton import amount and Turkey with 2 million-ton import amount follow China. The first country that becomes prominent in export on all oilseeds basis is Brazil. According to 2012/13 data; Brazil realizes approximately 36% of total export amount with 41,9 million-ton oilseed export. USA with 36,9 million tons, Canada with 10,6 million tons, Argentina with million tons, Paraguay with 5,5 million tons, Australia with 4 million tons and Ukraine with 2,7 million tons follow Brazil.