Oilseed rape prices fall after US pressure

Oilseed rape prices have plummeted over the past week, with harvest pressure in the USA and weaker palm oil values weighing on the markets.

As Farmers Weekly went to press, spot rapeseed was fetching about £355/t ex-farm, depending on location – almost £20/t down on last week. Rapid soya bean harvest progress in the USA was partly to blame, with 41% cut by 30 September, up from 22% the previous week and an average of 19% at this time of year. Yields were also better than expected, with 35% of the crop rated good to excellent, versus 30% on 2 September.

Cereal markets remained firm, after the USDA confirmed tight ending stocks for both wheat and maize. The International Grains Council’s latest report put global wheat production at 657m tonnes and almost 6% down on last year. Maize production was cut by 5m tonnes, to 833m tonnes – 42m tonnes below last year, with forecast record South American production boosting the global soya bean crop by 19m tonnes, to 256m tonnes.

Domestic feed wheat values eased by just over £1/t on the week, to about £190/t ex-farm, with milling wheat down by the same amount, to about £223/t.

Market report