Brazil's vegetable oil exports to Chile climb 7-fold since 2023

Three years, three straight gains

Brazilian exports of vegetable oils and fixed fats to Chile — a category covering jojoba, fractionated palm, and various refined specialty oils — stood at US$175,120 in 2023. By 2025, the same trade flow reached US$1,143,956 — a compound increase of 553% across the window. The progression is consistent and unbroken. In 2024, revenues more than tripled year-on-year, reaching US$542,949 — a +210% gain in twelve months. In 2025, growth moderated but remained strong: another +111% over an already elevated base. Each year larger than the last, each gain compounding on the previous one.

What is driving the trend

Chile has one of Latin America's most open trade environments, with bilateral agreements that reduce tariff friction on Brazilian agricultural inputs. As Chile's processed food and personal care industries have scaled up in recent years, demand for specialty vegetable oils — beyond conventional soybean oil — has grown alongside them. Functional fats for confectionery, cosmetic-grade jojoba, and fractionated palm for food processing are categories where Brazilian suppliers have built recognized quality.

Brazil's exchange rate backdrop added a structural tailwind. The real's depreciation against the dollar during this period made Brazilian-origin oils consistently price-competitive against alternatives from Southeast Asia or Europe. Exporters billing in US dollars captured that advantage directly in operating margins.

Sector context

SH4 1515 is a broad grouping. It spans linseed oil, tung oil, jojoba, fractionated palm fractions, and other fixed vegetable oils — each with distinct end-market applications. The aggregate trajectory toward Chile suggests at least one or two products within this universe found recurring, structured demand rather than one-off purchase cycles.

Globally, vegetable oil markets have remained sensitive to supply concentration risk since the 2022 palm oil export restrictions from Indonesia. Buyers diversifying away from single-origin dependency have been more receptive to South American suppliers. Brazil, as the world's largest soybean oil exporter and a significant regional producer of specialty oils, sits well-positioned in that diversification narrative. Chile, as a net food importer with an active processed food sector, amplified that demand locally.

Scale and signal

At US$1.1M in 2025, the absolute value is still modest relative to Brazil's total vegetable oil export base. But the dynamic matters more than the headline number: three consecutive annual gains from a low base, with no reversal, signal market entry rather than episodic sales. When a partner country shows this pattern, it typically means a distribution channel has been established and is scaling.

For specialty oil categories — fractionated palm, functional fats, jojoba — Chile is behaving like a market that is being discovered, not just serviced occasionally. The outlook for 2026 depends on exchange rate competitiveness and the continuation of Chilean industry buying cycles. Year-to-date data through April points toward another positive year within this band.

For companies working across this space, the Chilean trajectory warrants active pipeline management rather than passive order-taking.

The broader trade relationship

Chile was already Brazil's top-5 agricultural trading partner in Latin America before this vegetable oil trend began. The bilateral relationship benefits from long-standing commercial ties and a shared preference for reducing dependence on distant Asian suppliers. As regional food value chains continue to integrate, Brazil's role as a specialty oil supplier to Chilean manufacturers appears to be moving from opportunistic to structural.

What this means for you

For exporters: identify which NCM subheadings within 1515 are driving Chile volumes — concentration in fractionated palm versus jojoba changes the prospecting approach entirely. Target Chilean distributors serving food ingredient and personal care buyers before their typical Q3 purchasing cycle opens.

For importers: if you source Brazilian vegetable oils for resale or manufacturing, the favorable BRL/USD window may be narrowing. Locking forward contracts now could protect against margin erosion if the real strengthens in the second half of the year.

The third consecutive year of gains confirms this is a structural trend, not a statistical blip.