Ukraine rapeseed exports to Europe may fall a third

Ukraine's rapeseed exports to the European Union are likely to fall by around a third in the 2016/17 season due to a smaller harvest and a redirecting of exports to other markets, analyst UkrAgroConsult said. Ukraine's rapeseed harvest is likely to fall to 1.2 million tonnes this year from 1.7 million tonnes in 2015 and exports could fall to 850,000 tonnes from 1.4 million tonnes in 2015/16, the consultancy said in a statement.
Ukraine used to be a major supplier of rapeseed to the European market, exporting at least 1 million tonnes of the commodity annually. "In recent years rapeseed shipments from Ukraine to Europe have been decreasing gradually due to increased domestic crushing and partial reorientation of Ukrainian exports to other markets - Pakistan, Bangladesh and others," UkrAgroConsult said.
The consultancy noted that according to the most optimistic estimates, Ukraine would be able to supply no more than 700,000 tonnes of rapeseed to European markets in 2016/17 versus 1.1 million tonnes in 2015/16. "Considering that Europe needs to import about 2.5-3.0 million tonnes of rapeseed to meet the domestic demand ... European consumers are likely to switch to rapeseed from Australia and Canada," it said.