UK rapeseed exports record – and more to go

Oilseed rape values have jumped by £10/t over the past week, buoyed by stronger soyabean markets and concerns over new crop yields.

Spot prices reached about £393/t ex-farm on Wednesday (25 April), with new crop values up by a similar amount, to about £380/t for harvest movement and £386/t for November.

UK rapeseed exports reached a record 635,000t between July and February, amid strong German demand, said a report by HGCA. And the EU deficit looked set to continue into the new season, with Oil World forecasting the EU harvest at 18.5m tonnes, down from 19.2m tonnes last year.

Oil World had also cut its estimate of South American soya production, with Argentina set to harvest 42.5m tonnes and Brazil 65m tonnes, down from 49.2m tonnes and 75.3m tonnes last year, respectively. “Argentina is also embroiled in a growing trade dispute with Spain over the Argentine government’s nationalisation of leading energy company YPF,” said the HGCA report. “Spain (and Europe as a whole) is a large importer of Argentine biodiesel; if any trade dispute halts these imports, demand for domestic EU biodiesel feedstocks (rape oil) may increase, potentially supporting crush demand for rapeseed. Any dispute may also impact soya meal trade.”

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