Rapeseed costs less than fuel oil

In Germany, UFOP reports that for years now, dramatically low prices have defined the level of revenues from rapeseed and soft wheat. The drought year 2018 did not do anything to change this. So anyone who is still talking about an inflationary effect of biofuel production, raises the “food or fuel” conundrum, or time and again refers to the debate about indirect changes in land use (iLUC) to argue against biofuels certified as sustainable, misjudges the situation. In fact, fuel oil has a far “higher value” than rapeseed or grain. Prices for energy and agricultural feedstock are actually diverging. In other words, agriculture acts as a brake on inflation.

What is more, biofuel use remains a key market for agricultural feedstock and prevents producer prices from skidding further still. Rapeseed meal that is obtained as a by-product in biofuel production is becoming an increasingly important factor in pricing, as it is used as a GM-free protein feed for dairy cows. GM-free feeding is a requirement for the well-known “without GM” label on food packaging.