Oilseed rape gains £5/t on good soya bean demand
© Tim Scrivener Oilseed rape prices bounced back in the week to 30 November, gaining £5/t to average £342.20/t ex-farm for spot movement.
This came on the back of firmer soya bean and soya oil markets. The rise was due to strong demand from China for US soya beans, in turn pushing up other vegetable oil prices.
UK prices also found support after the US Environmental Protection Agency increased the US renewable fuel target by 6% for 2017 to 19.28bn gallons.
See also: More market prices and trends
International soya oil prices climbed 6% in response and UK rapeseed values followed. Soya bean crushings in the EU were forecast to increase in 2016-17 to 15.4m tonnes, up from 15.01m tonnes in 2015-16, according to Oil World.
This was higher than both International Grains Council and US Department of Agriculture estimates, which both forecast a 7% year-on-year decline.
The estimated rise was due to an 11% fall in oilseed rape production in the EU this year, meaning crushers and consumers would substitute rapeseed with cheaper alternatives, said a report by AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds.
However, EU soya bean production in 2016-17 was forecast up 11% on last year at 2.66m tonnes, while imports were forecast to fall by 3%.