Oilseed rape price recovery stops

Last week’s oilseed rape price recovery will not continue at the beginning of this week. Overall, the May contract on the Paris futures market rose by around € 10.00 to € 427.50 per tonne. This week the trend is slightly downward again. Around noon on Tuesday, the contract was still quoted at € 525 per tonne.

Rapeseed escaped the price pressure on soybeans last week. This was supported by rising crude oil prices. The harvest expectations for rapeseed in the EU and Ukraine were just as important.

Less rapeseed cultivation in the EU

The French consultancy Strategy Grains recently issued a harvest forecast that rapeseed production in the EU will decline by 7% to 18.4 million tons. This is supported by an area forecast from the German CropRadar. Although rapeseed cultivation in France is still going strong, a significant decline can be seen in the EU. CropRadar sees less rapeseed, especially in Denmark and Romania. The reduction is even greater in the United Kingdom, where, according to the German company Kleffmann Digital, about 17% less rapeseed is grown than last year.

Imports from Ukraine could be disappointing

Lower rapeseed production in the EU should be offset by increased imports from Ukraine and Australia. However, the import options from Ukraine could be disappointing. The Ukrainian agricultural business club UCAB reports that grain and oilseed production will decline by 15 to 20% this year due to a smaller acreage.

However, the signals about lower rapeseed production in Europe have to compete with high harvest expectations for soybeans in America. The latter appears to put more pressure on the oilseed market in the longer term.