The global rapeseed area for the 2025/26 marketing season has been estimated at 44.1M ha, according to International Grains Council (IGC) estimates reported by Germany’s Union for the Promotion of Plants and Protein (UFOP).
This would be a 1.4% increase compared to the current season and the largest recorded rapeseed planted area, the 28 November report said.
EU farmers were estimated to have expanded their production areas by almost 4% to 6M ha, driven by higher prices, according to the IGC.
In Germany, rapeseed stocks were reportedly in good condition despite heavy rainfall in some regions and dry spells in Eastern Germany at the time of planting, with only a small percentage of land requiring re-planting.
At the time of the report, the outlook for rapeseed production in major exporting nations was still uncertain.
In India, planting and growing conditions in the country’s most important rapeseed producing region Rajasthan had been impacted by drought.
In addition, the rapeseed area had declined by an estimated 7.2%, falling to 3.12M ha.
Although planting in Canada and Australia had not started at the time of the report, current estimates suggested expanded production areas in both countries – as long as demand remained steady.
In the USA, an 8.3% increase in rapeseed area was also possible, the report said.
According to research by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft, the rise would be based on increased demand from the fuel sector following the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to promote biofuels for road and air traffic.
In mid-2024, the EPA approved the use of rapeseed oil as a feedstock for biofuels production, which had led to a sharp increase in rapeseed imports, the report said.
