The use of oilseed meal from rapeseed and soyabeans in compound feeds in the European Union (EU) has declined over the last few years, according to a report by Germany’s Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants (UFOP).
In the first nine months of the 2017/18 marketing year, usage In EU feeds totalled 4.62M tonnes, according to the 12 May report, but by 2021/22, the figure was down around 11% to 4.11M tonnes.
Soya meal processing dropped by just over 9% to 1.78M tonnes during the period. Similarly, the use of rapeseed meal also fell around 9% to 1.85M tonnes.
In contrast, the change in the meals’ share of total processing was marginal, with soyabean meal’s share rising from 42% to 43% in the past four years and the rapeseed meal’s share increasing from 44% to 45%.
According to information published by Agrarmarkt-Informationsgesellschaft (mbH), most soybean meal used in feed production is GM soyabean meal imported from non-EU countries, particularly Argentina, Brazil or the USA, and is mainly used in poultry and pig feed.
Demand for GM-free rapeseed meal was led by the introduction of “without GM” label dairies and the cost-benefit ratio of the feed value of rapeseed for ruminants, the report said.
