Rapeseed imports to EU from Australia expected to decline

In Germany, UFOP reports that  Australia was the second largest supplier of rapeseed to Germany after France. This situation is unlikely to repeat itself in the coming year because the current drought will probably cut the Australian rapeseed harvest and reduce exports volumes. About 4.8 million tonnes of rapeseed came to Germany between April 2016 and March 2017. Most of it, around 1.6 million tonnes, came from France. Australia took second position, supplying 0.71 million tonnes. This figure was up by three quarters year-on-year. Consequently, Australia was the primary country of origin outside the EU-28.

However, UFOP notes that currently it is too dry and too hot in Australia. It is clear even now that the scheduled 20 per cent expansion in cultivation area compared to the previous year is unlikely to materialise, according to Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft mbH (AMI). The Australian ministry of agriculture pegs the upcoming crop at 3.3 million tonnes, down 20 per cent from a year earlier. As a consequence, Australian rapeseed will do little to improve the foreseeably tight German supply and demand balance.

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