EU's rapeseed output forecast to fall 3.3% year-over-year to 18.5 million tonnes--a five-year low--after freezing weather hurt fields, Oil World said

Andrew Rogers

LOS ANGELES , April 17, 2012 (Industry Intelligence) – The European Union’s rapeseed production is forecast to fall 3.3% year-over-year to a five-year low of 18.5 million tonnes after freezing weather hurt fields, Oil World said, Bloomberg reported April 17.

The EU is usually responsible for nearly one-third of global rapeseed production at 60 million tonnes, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, but the crop in some parts of the EU could face disaster after winter killing and fungus have compounded poor planting conditions that reduced acreage last autumn, Oil World said.

France’s rapeseed output may fall to 5.2 million tonnes from 5.35 million tonnes last year. Romanian farmers may see production slide to 180,000 tonnes from 670,000 tonnes in 2011. Bulgaria’s output may fall to 270,000 tonnes from 520,000 tonnes.

Rapeseed fields in Germany were hurt by drought last spring, but production may increase to 4.45 million tonnes from 3.9 million tonnes, the researcher said. The country may plow under rapeseed plantings on at least 70,000 to 80,000 hectares (172,974 to 197,684 acres) after the crop suffered winter damage, bringing the harvested area down to 1.23 million hectares from 1.33 million hectares last year, according to Oil World.

Canada’s canola production is forecast to increase by 500,000 to 1 million hectares from 7.6 million hectares in 2011, Oil World said.

The primary source of this article is Bloomberg, New York, New York, on April 17, 2012.

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