Harvest expectations pressure oilseed rape market

Oilseed rape markets have dropped by another £4/t over the past week, bringing total losses over the past fortnight to almost £22/t.

Spot prices were pegged at about £300/t ex-farm as Farmers Weekly went to press, with new crop values falling to around £265/t for harvest movement. Expectations of a large domestic and European harvest were weighing on the market, with weak global soyabean values adding to the pressure, said traders. Prices were also being hampered by the strength of the euro, which had risen to its highest level of the year against the dollar at $1.39.

“Markets continue to focus on South American exports, which should relieve tightness in global supplies,” said a report by HGCA. “On the back of this season’s record harvest, Brazil exported a record 8.25m tonnes of soyabeans in April, over 2m tonnes more than in March.”

Although soyabean harvest progress in Argentina was slightly behind last year at 56.7% complete by 30 April, yield indications were good, it added.

“Weather in the US has not been ideal for soyabean planting, with 5% planted by May compared to a five-year average of 11%. However, it is too early for this to cause significant issues.”