Agritel determined the most profitable oilseed crop in 2018/19

Agritel preliminary estimates show that in the 2018/19 season rapeseed remained the most profitable oilseed crop, overtaking soybean and sunflower in terms of this indicator.

This was informed by Victoriia Blazhko, Grain Markets Analyst at Agritel, in a comment for Latifundist.com.

In her opinion, the high margin of rapeseed production in Ukraine (62 per cent) was supported by the record yield (2.85 t/ha, according to USDA), as well as rather high prices driven by the active demand from the EU.

Viktoriia Blazhko also stressed that the record level of production (2.85 million tons) ensured a high volume of exports from Ukraine. In July-May 2018/19, 2,5 million tons of rapeseed were exported. At the same time, 89 per cent of Ukrainian deliveries of this crop were made to the European Union states.

Learn more: TOP 10 Rapeseed Exporters from Ukraine in 2018

According to Agritel's analyst, rapeseed production in the EU in 2019/20 should decline to 18 million tons which will lead to the record volumes of oilseeds imports.

"For the first time since 2007/08 European rapeseed production may fall below 18 million tons. This means that the EU member states will need record oilseed imports (by Agritel estimates, 5,5 million tons) to sustain their processing industries. And this, in turn, opens up good prospects for the export of Ukrainian rapeseed and, therefore, can soften the factor of a record harvest, providing support to prices," emphasized Victoriia Blazhko.

Rapeseed area in Ukraine grew in the 2018/19 season to 1.3 million hectares, which is a third more than last year's result, and is a record indicator for the past nine years.