Rapeseed imports in the European Union (EU) increased by 40% in the first 14 weeks of the 2022/23 season compared to the same period the previous year, Germany’s Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants (UFOP) reported.
UFOP said the increase was reported despite a considerably larger EU rapeseed harvest than in 2021/22.
The EU-27 imported just less than 1.7M tonnes of rapeseed in the period, according to the report, a significantly higher volume than in the same period the previous season but 1.5% down on the 2020/21 season.
Fluctuations in import volumes were due to availability in the world market and European rapeseed supply, UFOP said on 13 October.
The European rapeseed crop was expected to total 18.8M tonnes in the current marketing year, according to research by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (AMI), which would be a year-on-year increase of just less than 11%.
However, with total demand from oil mills in the EU expected to total around 23.3M tonnes, the EU Commission forecast the need for imports from third countries at 4.5M tonnes, which would be 1.1M tonnes less than 2021/22.
“In view of import demand, significant changes in trade flows can be expected. As in previous years, Ukraine was the primary supplier,“ UFOP said.
According to information published by AMI, the 40% increase in imports was recorded despite the ongoing war.
Meanwhile, imports from Australia increased significantly in the third quarter and doubled compared to the same period the previous year.
Following sharp yield losses in the previous year due to drought, Canada also regained importance for the EU with deliveries rising around 25%, the report said, while imports from Moldova and Serbia dropped 29% and 57% respectively, although at a low quantitative level.
