The price of rapeseed has been on the rise since the autumn. On the Matif futures market, the price has risen by 10% since the end of October. The price level is 13,5% higher than a year earlier. This is the highest level in 3 years.
On Monday afternoon, January 6, the Matif is trading slightly lower again, but still firmly above the €400 level. It is also expected that the market will continue to operate at this level. The old price record, from April 28, 2017, was broken on January 3. In January 2017, the price was still €13 per ton higher.
High oil prices
The direct driver for this increase is the global demand for vegetable oils. For example, the price of palm oil is at the highest level since July 2014, causing a run on alternatives. At the CBoT in Chicago, the soy oil contract is at its highest point since November 2017. This is in contrast to the contract for the beans themselves.
In Canada, the pricing of rapeseed is counterproductive. There has been a noticeable increase since the end of November, but the price has also lost some ground since the end of December. Rapeseed is a hot topic in this country. China traditionally bought 40% of the Canadian harvest, but suddenly stopped importing after a top executive of tech company Huawei was arrested and extradited to the US.
Growing season continues to be disappointing
As previously op Boerenbusiness proclaim Several events are the reason for a sudden increase in the price of rapeseed. In Europe, cultivation continues to struggle due to disappointing growing seasons and the lack of neonicotinoids. Arable farmers are cautiously seeing a return to yellow gold, but the recovery is thin. A dry sowing season (autumn 2019) and wet winter will not contribute to a larger European harvest, although anything can still happen.
The question is whether rapeseed can continue to rise in price at the beginning of this year. The United Kingdom can export products to other EU member states until February 1. The US biofuel market affects the situation and demand for vegetable oil. A disappointing growing season in Europe also lays a solid foundation. Remarkably, rapeseed meal prices are not moving upwards with the oil price.