Rapeseed: Sluggish market activity right now
May 30, 2018 at 11:15 AM ,
Starry Night Ltd.
BULGARIA. In regions throughout the country, farmers will start harvesting rapeseed approximately at the end of June, provided the weather conditions are favourable and unexpected rainfalls do not hit fields. Currently, wherever intermittent showers have fallen repeatedly, fields’ moisture reserves have been replenished – some quite substantially. In other places, rains have been scarcer, and farmers’ worries over expected lower yields have not eased yet. However, before the start of harvest 2018-19, farmers will be yet busy with fieldwork such as spraying against insects, etc.
Rapeseed: Before the upcoming harvest, sluggish market activities
The export season for the crop has long been called off. The strongest foreign demand for locally grown rapeseed takes place in the few months after harvest while afterwards, the export trend nosedives. The country is a relatively small producer of rapeseed, and it seems destined to remain so in the short-term; although estimates for planted acreages for the upcoming harvest reached 185,213 ha or by 11.4% higher than those of last year by this time. Domestically, the processing of the oil seed is limited, as yearly, its local demand represents a share of around 12% to 15% of national output.
|
Harvest 2017-18 (01.07.2017 – 25.05.2018) units in MT |
|
|
Beginning availability |
25,000 |
|
Aggregate output |
478,987 |
|
Imports |
32,655 |
|
Domestic consumption |
70,800 |
|
oil & biodiesel production |
70,800 |
|
Exports to the world |
433,461 |
|
to EU markets |
394,965 |
|
to rest of the world |
38,496 |
Source: Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture
Surprises have already crept in
Although this year, the meteorological conditions of the Winter and the Spring seasons have been quite unusual – substantial lack of thick snow throughout the winter (a mild season) and prolonged lack of rain within places in regions, farmers are not yet ensured against unexpected, as well as, expected natural hits. In fields throughout the Southwest of the country, a noticeable period of early blooming, followed by a sudden fall off of the yellow flowered parts of rapeseed, has been observed. Frosts have not been seen to hit the crops in those fields to affect their colours so suddenly and so completely. Yet, there are fields, which had been blossoming for a few weeks, while currently have totally lost their yellowish parts.
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