The production of rapeseed and associated products in the UK is set to fall drastically as farmers are becoming “disillusioned” with the crop, according to latest projections by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
Total UK rapeseed oil output is expected to reach only 720,000 tonnes in the 2025/26 marketing year, the 9 April UK Oilseeds and Products Annual report stated.
The projected yield is roughly 12.6% lower than the 824,000 tonnes harvested in 2024/25, which in turn marked a sharp decline from the 1.2M tonnes in the 2023/24 season.
Similarly, planted area is also expected to fall 18% from 293,000ha in 2024/25 to a record-low 240,000ha in 2025/26. Both figures are significantly below the 391,000ha planted in 2024/23.
According to the USDA report, the low plantings and consequent drop in projected harvest stems from farmers losing faith in rapeseed as a crop in the wake of poor weather and pest issues.
“Growers have become disillusioned with rapeseed after suffering from low yields, poor growing conditions and pest pressures in previous years and have consequently turned to alternative land uses with more reliable returns, such as guaranteed contractual payments from UK agri-environment schemes,” the report said.
Domestic rapeseed production in the 2024/25 season covered less than 50% of UK processors’ demand for rapeseed, driving drive year-on-year rapeseed imports from 975,000 tonnes to 1.06M tonnes in 2025/26, with the EU and Ukraine meeting the majority of imports.
The UK uses rapeseed primarily to produce rapeseed oil and meal, with the USDA projecting total crush to sit unchanged at 1.7M tonnes in 2025/26.
Rapeseed oil production is expected to decline 9.3% from 750,000 tonnes in 2023/24 to 680,000 tonnes in 2024/25, despite rapeseed oil demand remaining high due to the UK shifting away from palm and other oils.
For the 2025/26 marketing year, rapeseed oil production is projected to remain stable at 680,000 tonnes.
Rapeseed meal, however, is forecast to grow 34% from 970,000 tonnes in 2024/25 to 1.3M tonnes in 2025/26.
The increase in rapeseed meal production is due to higher numbers of livestock in the UK, with feed applications driving demand for high-quality meal.
