France faces a steep fall in rapeseed production next year after dry conditions reduced sowings of the oilseed, consultancy ODA Groupe said on Friday, confirming an outlook it gave last month. The rapeseed area for next year's crop is expected to shrink by 7.5 percent, ODA said, citing a follow-up survey with clients in early November.
The consultancy in early October had projected an 8 percent fall in the rapeseed area. It reiterated its forecast for 2017 rapeseed production of around 4 million tonnes, down from 4.6 million in last summer's harvest. The reduced area forecast took account of farmers ploughing up failed crop, with fields expected to be resown with cereals, ODA said.
Rapeseed on an estimated 2 percent of the sown area was estimated to be behind in its growth and also at risk of being dug up if winter weather is severe, it said. A late summer drought disrupted rapeseed sowing in France and elsewhere in Western Europe, and curbed planting intentions after analysts had previously expected attractive prices compared with cereals to lead to area gains for rapeseed.
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