Oilseed markets stay firm on crop outlooks

Oilseed rape prices remain firm, supported by buoyant soya bean and Malaysian palm oil markets. Ex-farm values were about £1 up on the week to Wednesday (5 September), to around £385/t for spot movement and close to £390/t for November.

Heavy rain in the American Midwest has done little to change the soya bean crop, with 30% rated good to excellent versus 56% last year. Funds also supported the market by buying soya bean futures in large quantities earlier in the week. Adverse weather in the EU, Russia and Ukraine also means that world sunflower seed production is likely to fall by almost 3m tonnes, to 36.8m tonnes.

In the UK, rapeseed harvest was almost complete, although growers still had crops to combine in Scotland, said Willie Wright, oilseed trader at Gleadell Agriculture.

“Quality and yields have remained at the lower end of expectations; yields are being reported at around 3.4t/ha, with many reports of oil content running around 42.5%.

“The UK crop looks set to come in at circa 2.45m tonnes, giving us an exportable surplus of around 500,000t for the season. Much of this will have moved in the July-August period, leaving the UK with little to offer the European marketplace post-Christmas.”

Market report