Rapeseed: Do not be so happy – a slight increase in planted acreages
April 4, 2018 at 12:18 PM ,
Starry Night Ltd.
BULGARIA. The heydays of swift rapeseed exports have long passed. Currently, a few metric tons may or may not cross the borders of the country per month. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, remaining stocks are accounted for 34,504 mt.
Rapeseed: a slight increase in gross area
Although locally produced rapeseed is swiftly bought out and consequently exported – internal demand is limited on a yearly basis – the country still remains a relatively small producer of rapeseed within the region. Local farmers should have long learned the benefits of the saying “Fortune favors the bold” and confidently increased future plots. For the upcoming harvest, farmers planted 181,832 ha. The number is not that different from that of last year – a slight increase of 3.4% – although the country has exported 93.53% of its aggregate output so far in the marketing season.
Harvest 2017-18 (01.07.2017 – 30.03.2018) units in MT |
|
Beginning availability |
25,000 |
Aggregate output |
458,110 |
Imports |
32,655 |
Domestic consumption |
52,800 |
oil & biodiesel production |
52,800 |
Exports to the world |
428,461 |
to EU markets |
389,965 |
to rest of the world |
38,496 |
Source: Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture
Weather is crucial for success
However, the growing issue facing farmers right now is not so much planted acreages as it is the weather within a month period. Fieldwork should have resumed by now, but because of abundant water reserves in fields, resulting from recent snow melting and continuous rains, some farmers still could not enter fields. In the Northeast – the region that produces the highest share of rapeseed on an annual basis – farmers have complained of overflooded plots, foreseeing a total destruction of crops in some fields. Expecting dried weather to allow them to spray, farmers are definitely missing optimal time for husbandry work. Although planted acreages for the upcoming harvest have slightly been increased, expected output could well be lower than that of harvest 2017-18 because of early unfavorable weather conditions!