German Sunflower Seed Oil Importers – Company Profiles and Trade Records

A detailed look at three notable German companies involved in the sunflower seed oil trade, featuring commercial registry data from the German Handelsregister, product portfolios, and comprehensive business profiles.

Germany represents one of the largest and most important markets for sunflower seed oil imports in the European Union. The country's food manufacturing sector, which is the largest in Europe, relies on a sophisticated network of specialised importers, traders, and distributors to supply edible oils and food raw materials from international producing regions. The following profiles present three German companies that have been identified in connection with sunflower seed oil imports, each operating in distinct segments of the supply chain. From organic food commodity trading to oilseed wholesale and premium vegetable oil refinement, these companies collectively illustrate the diverse nature of Germany's sunflower seed oil import ecosystem.

Key Facts About the German Sunflower Seed Oil Market

• Germany is the EU's fourth-largest consumer of vegetable oils, with sunflower seed oil accounting for a significant share of total edible oil consumption in the country
• Ukraine is the dominant supplier of sunflower seed oil to Germany, providing over 80 percent of total German sunflower seed oil imports in most years
• The German Handelsregister (commercial register) provides publicly accessible corporate records including registration numbers, managing directors, share capital, and registered addresses for all German companies
• Three distinct import models are represented in this directory: organic commodity trading (Atriplex), oilseed wholesale with cold-pressed oil production (Churov), and premium oils and waxes trading with refinery operations (Henry Lamotte Oils)

Atriplex GmbH

Commercial Register: HRB 13352, Amtsgericht Munster

Registered Office: Peter-Wust-Str. 31, 48149 Munster, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Operational Address: Corrensstrasse 80, 48149 Munster, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Managing Director: Franz-Joseph Witte

Procurist: Maximilian Witte

Incorporation Date: 12 August 2011

Share Capital: 25,000 EUR (Stammkapital)

Website: atriplex.net

Certifications: IFOAM Organic International (Affiliate Member), Naturland Certified (since 2019), EU Organic Regulation Compliant

Atriplex GmbH is a family-run trading company headquartered in Munster, North Rhine-Westphalia, specialising in the wholesale and retail trade of organic food commodities, semi-finished products, and raw materials. Founded in August 2011 by Franz-Joseph Witte, the company has established itself as a reliable supplier of organically certified food ingredients to grocery producers throughout Europe and overseas. The company's name is derived from the Atriplex genus of plants, commonly known as saltbush or orache, reflecting its deep connection to the natural food and agricultural ingredients sector.

Atriplex operates with a comprehensive product portfolio that includes organic fruit products such as dried fruits and fruit ingredients, organic cereal and grain products, organic herbs and spices, organic dairy products, and kosher-certified products including meat and poultry. The company is an active supporter of Slow Food Deutschland, aligning its business philosophy with the principles of good, clean, and fair food. As a certified organic trader compliant with EU organic regulations and holding Naturland certification since 2019, Atriplex provides full traceability and quality assurance for all imported organic commodities, including organic sunflower seed oil sourced from approved organic cultivation regions. The company's import and export activities span European and overseas markets, making it an important link in the global organic food supply chain connecting producers with food manufacturers across multiple continents.

Churov GmbH

Commercial Register: HRB 710103, Amtsgericht Mannheim

Registered Office: Hohenzollernstrasse 107, 56068 Koblenz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Managing Director: Dr. Alexander Churov

Incorporation Date: 10 September 2010

Share Capital: 25,000 EUR (Stammkapital)

VAT ID: DE 815 217 196

EORI Number: DE 7998406

Website: churov.de

Certifications: GMO-Free Guaranteed (all products certified gentechnik-frei)

Churov GmbH is a family-owned wholesale trading company based in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, specialising in the import and export of agricultural products from Central and Eastern Europe. The company was founded by Dr. Alexander Churov, whose academic background in St. Petersburg, Russia, and professional experience across Georgia, Ukraine, and Germany provided the foundation for building a specialised trade bridge between Eastern European agricultural producers and Western European industrial buyers. Originally headquartered in Karlsruhe, the company relocated to its current premises in Koblenz and has developed a strong reputation as a reliable supplier of oilseeds, feed seeds, and cold-pressed oils to the German and European markets.

Churov GmbH maintains an extensive product portfolio that is particularly relevant to the sunflower seed oil sector. The company trades in sunflower seeds (both black and striped varieties), sunflower seed press cake, sunflower meal, and cold-pressed sunflower oil, alongside a comprehensive range of other oilseeds including flaxseed, camelina sativa, hemp seeds, safflower seeds, rapeseed, turnip rapeseed, and mustard seeds. For each oilseed product, the company also offers the corresponding cold-pressed oil and press cake by-products. Beyond oilseeds, Churov trades in buckwheat, field peas, millet, chickpeas, coriander (whole, split, ground, and coriander oil), lentils, and milk thistle seeds. The company guarantees that all products are GMO-free and provides comprehensive quality control at origin, including oversight during planting and harvest phases. Churov GmbH handles the full import logistics chain including phytosanitary certification, EU border control, customs clearance, and direct delivery from 20-tonne minimum quantities to processing plants. Products are shipped in flexible packaging formats including BigBags, sacks, or bulk, with transport options by truck, rail wagon, or ship. The company's EORI number (DE 7998406) confirms its active status as a registered economic operator in EU customs procedures, and its website is available in German, Russian, English, and Polish, reflecting the international scope of its trading activities.

Henry Lamotte Oils GmbH

Commercial Register: HRB 14591 HB, Amtsgericht Bremen

Registered Office: Merkurstrasse 47, 28197 Bremen, Germany

Postal Address: Postfach 10 38 49, 28038 Bremen, Germany

Managing Directors: Hermann Bosse, Sebastian Drewes, Albert Lamotte

Founded: 1925 in Bremen by Henry Lamotte

Share Capital: 4,568,528 EUR (Stammkapital)

VAT ID: DE114576398

GLN Number: 40 48097 00000 4

Website: lamotte-oils.de

Group: Henry Lamotte Unternehmensgruppe (Henry Lamotte Group)

Certifications: ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management), Ecocert (Organic/Natural Cosmetics), Halal Certification

Henry Lamotte Oils GmbH is a market-leading German supplier and producer of high-quality vegetable oils, fats, waxes, seed flours, oleoresins, colourings, and flavourings. Founded in 1925 in the Hanseatic city of Bremen by Henry Lamotte, the company originally operated under the name Henry Lamotte Import/Export and specialised in pharmaceutical cod-liver oil. Over the course of nearly 100 years, the company has grown into one of Germany's oldest and most established oil trading and processing enterprises, now serving the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food, animal feed, and chemical industries worldwide. With a share capital of over 4.5 million euros, Henry Lamotte Oils is significantly larger in financial scale than the typical small-to-medium trading companies commonly found in the German oils and fats sector.

The company's product portfolio is exceptionally comprehensive, encompassing conventional and organic vegetable oils including sunflower oil, safflower oil, sesame seed oil, almond oil, apricot kernel oil, argan oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, evening primrose oil, jojoba oil, macadamia oil, and olive oil. Beyond oils, the company supplies vegetable butters such as shea butter, cocoa butter, and mango butter; plant-based and synthetic waxes including beeswax, candelilla wax, carnauba wax, rice bran wax, and sunflower wax; seed flours and press cakes; oleoresins and extracts; colourings and flavourings; pharmaceutical-grade fish oils; and specialised products such as squalane and squalene. Henry Lamotte Oils is part of the Henry Lamotte Group, a family-owned Bremen-based enterprise group that also includes Henry Lamotte Food GmbH and Henry Lamotte Services GmbH. The company offers customised oil blends, private label solutions, technical consulting, and product development services, making it a comprehensive partner for businesses requiring specialised oils and lipid-based ingredients. The company's ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications, combined with Ecocert and Halal approvals, underscore its commitment to quality, environmental responsibility, and compliance with international standards. Henry Lamotte Oils regularly participates in major industry exhibitions including Biofach, and maintains active professional profiles on industry platforms such as Knowde, Ingredients Network, and CPHI Online.

The Role of These Companies in Germany's Sunflower Seed Oil Supply Chain

The three companies profiled in this directory represent three distinct and complementary roles within Germany's sunflower seed oil import and distribution ecosystem. Understanding these roles provides valuable insight into how sunflower seed oil moves from international producing regions to German end users through different supply chain channels and business models.

• Organic commodity trading (Atriplex GmbH): Focuses on certified organic sunflower seed oil and other organic food commodities, serving the growing German and European market for organic food products with full traceability and organic certification compliance, connecting organic farmers in producing countries with organic food manufacturers in Europe
• Oilseed wholesale and cold-pressed production (Churov GmbH): Operates as a specialised bridge between Eastern European agricultural producers and German industrial buyers, trading sunflower seeds, cold-pressed sunflower oil, and press cake with comprehensive import logistics including customs clearance, quality control, and direct plant delivery services
• Premium oils trading and refinement (Henry Lamotte Oils GmbH): Functions as a large-scale, multi-industry supplier of refined and unrefined vegetable oils including sunflower oil, serving pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food, and chemical industries with nearly a century of trading expertise and substantial processing and refining capabilities

Germany's sunflower seed oil imports are driven by strong domestic demand across multiple industry sectors. The country's food manufacturing industry, the largest in the European Union, consumes substantial volumes of sunflower seed oil for food processing applications including baking, frying, margarine production, and prepared food manufacturing. The cosmetics and personal care industry represents another significant demand centre, utilising sunflower seed oil as a base ingredient in skincare products, hair care formulations, and cosmetic preparations. The pharmaceutical sector also contributes to demand, particularly for high-purity, pharmaceutical-grade sunflower seed oil used in medicinal and therapeutic applications. Together, these demand drivers sustain a robust and diversified import market served by companies ranging from small family-run traders like Atriplex and Churov to established industry leaders like Henry Lamotte Oils, each contributing to the reliable supply of sunflower seed oil from global producing regions to German consumers and industries.