Optimistic forecast on oilseed rape future

May 13 2008 by Tom Patterson, The Journal

GROWERS could plant 5%-10% more oilseed rape next season and secure margins on a par with milling wheats or malting barleys.

Grainfarmers’ oilseeds director, Andrew Barnard, said that while the biofuel outlook is tough, food demand for vegetable oils is still growing and this is buoying prices.

Mr Barnard said that the EU looks set to remain a net importer of rapeseed and vegetable oils next season.

And, largely on the back of a strong demand for rape oil for food, the crop is already trading at prices of over £300/t with bonuses worth an additional £25-30/t.

In contrast, Mr Barnard pointed out that claims that the biofuel market was to blame for increasing food prices were a fallacy.

He said: “Biofuels only account for 7% of the global vegetable oil market. But there is a huge rise in world demand for vegetable oils. China for example has used 17% more palm oil over the last two years. This, combined with low world stocks expected at the end of this season, is the main cause for the inflation in vegetable oils, not biofuels.”

Mr Barnard added: “Biofuels have been hyped, but their prospects and usage is not born out by reality. This area could stagnate unless subsidised imports from the US are halted.” Grainfarmers, he said, is playing a leading role in the introduction of oilseed rapes that produce healthier High Oleic, Low Linolenic (HOLL) oils for the UK market.

Demand for these low trans-fatty acid oilseeds is rocketing, with retailers such as McDonalds, Burger King and several supermarkets keen to reduce cholesterol based health issues.

“While trials suggest lower yields, in reality we’ve not seen much disadvantage on farm,” said the company’s arable technical manager, Lee Bennett. With premiums of around £50/t to £60/t now available and new HOLL variety V141 OL to be introduced this summer, we expect these low trans-fatty acid rapes to reach around 10% of company rapeseed sales this autumn.” His advice to growers looking to stick with traditional “double low” varieties this autumn would be to pay greater attention to oil content when selecting from the leading varieties available for their farms.

“Every 1% of oil is worth an extra 1.5% of extra seed yield and growers should be aiming for total oil yields for highest returns. In this respect, new varieties such as Catana, Dimension and DK Cabernet provide oil bonuses worth £45-60/ha over current market leaders,” said Mr Bennett.

The EU looks set to remain a net importer of rapeseed and vegetable oils next season