French arable farmers sowed more winter rapeseed last autumn than previously estimated. According to the latest figures, cultivation will increase by 8% this year.
According to the Agreste statistics service of the French Ministry of Agriculture, the area under winter rapeseed has increased to 1,37 million hectares. This is the largest area since 2018, when 1,6 million hectares were cultivated.
This year, rapeseed cultivation is expected to increase primarily in the northwest and southwest. In the Nord-Pas-de-Calais potato region, the rapeseed area will increase by 17% to 29.200 hectares. In the slightly more southerly Picardy region, the area will expand by 6,6% to 116.700 hectares.
In the Burgundy region, east of Paris, cultivation will increase by 15% to 128.500 hectares. In the southwest, the largest percentage increase will occur in the Aquitaine region: +17,1% to 11.500 hectares.
The expansion of the winter rapeseed area in France is greater than in Germany. German rapeseed growers have sown about 5% more, bringing the area there to 1,15 million hectares.
Due to expansions in France and Germany, rapeseed cultivation in the European Union will increase to over 6 million hectares. This is in line with the 2018 and 2023 crop years. A significant expansion is also expected in Bulgaria. In Lithuania, Latvia, and the Czech Republic, however, the area under rapeseed cultivation will be significantly smaller than in 2025.
Poland is the largest rapeseed grower after Germany and France. Initial estimates suggest that the area has stabilized at 1,09 million hectares of winter rapeseed.
On the Paris futures market, the rapeseed price for May delivery is around €490 per tonne. The new harvest is around €20 to €25 per tonne lower.