European Union Rapeseed: Record Yield and Production

European Union (EU) rapeseed production for 2014/15 is estimated at a record 24.0 million tons, up 14% from last year, according to USDA’s November forecast. Area is estimated at 6.78 million hectares, up 0.4% or 0.03 million hectares from last year. Yield is estimated at a record 3.54 tons per hectare MT/Ha, 13% above last year, and 15% above the 5-year average.

 

The largest November rapeseed change was a 0.3-million-ton increase for Poland. Poland’s crop is estimated at 3.1 million tons on 0.9 million hectares. While the 2014/15 estimate does not reflect a record area for Poland, the 3.31 MT/Hayield and the 3.1 million ton production estimates are both records. The second largest EU rapeseed change was for the German crop, which increased 0.15 million tons to 6.25 million tons, with a record yield of 4.46 MT/Ha. Typically the EU’s second largest rapeseed producer is France. Production in France is estimated at 5.5 million tons, with a yield of 3.66 tons per hectare. United Kingdom’s crop benefitted from improved 2014 season weather and is estimated to harvest 2.5 million tons from 0.7 million hectares.