Rapeseed prices in free-fall
Last week, prices fell through the barrier of € 500 per ton and on Tuesday morning, March 21, business was already done on the futures market in Paris at a level of just under € 450 per ton. The prices of the new harvest remained just above € 450 per ton.
March is not proving to be the best month for rapeseed prices this year. At the beginning of this month, the product was still well above € 530 per ton. In the meantime, about € 80 has already evaporated. Compared to last year, prices have even halved.
World market prices put pressure on the market
The European Union is importing much more rapeseed than in previous years. As of March 12, the import counter stands at almost 5.8 million tons. That is just under 60% more than a year ago. Moreover, the falling world market prices of oilseeds are putting pressure on this market. The oil market, with prices of $74, is also about $10 lower than at the beginning of this month.
High production expectations
Harvest expectations are also not helping prices. For example, the crop monitoring committee JRC of the European Commission has published a harvest estimate of 3.29 tons per hectare for this year in the EU. That is fractionally lower than last year, but 6% higher than the 5-year average. Higher yields are expected in particular in Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania.
Add to that the fact that the acreage has expanded considerably and you end up with a production that is considerably higher than last year. Stratégie Grains and the European Commission are aiming for a harvest of 19.6 million tons. By way of comparison, 17 million tons of rapeseed were harvested in the EU last year.
