April 9, 2014
EU rapeseed harvest to hit second-highest on record
Rapeseed production in the European Union will climb 1.8% to the second-highest on record, with winter crops already flowering two to three weeks early, reported Oil World.
Farmers in the 28-nation EU will harvest 21.4 million tonnes of rapeseedthis year, compared with 21.02 million tonnes in 2013 and just below the record 21.8 million tonnes in 2009, the Hamburg-based researcher reported.
Germany, the biggest EU producer, is expected to harvest a crop 2.2% smaller than the previous year. In spite of that, Germany will remain the EU's largest rapeseed producer, harvesting 5.65 million tonnes in the 2014-15 marketing year, while French output will jump 17% from the prior season to 5.1 million tonnes, according to the report.
Oil World pegged Ukraine's rapeseed crop at 2 million to 2.2 million tonnes, down from 2.4 million tonnes last year, and the soybean crop at a record 3 million to 3.2 million tonnes. In Ukraine, farmers prefer to plant sunflowers due to its higher return on investment at 29% last year, Oil World said, citing State Statistics Service data.
The EU is the world's largest grower of rapeseed followed by Canada, which grows the canola variety, US Department of Agriculture data show. Apart from production of anmal feed, rapeseed is used to make cooking oil and can be processed into biodiesel.