German 2004/05 winter rapeseed plantings for harvesting in summer 2005 will rise only 0.41 percent on the year to 1,266,830 hectares, a study commissioned by German oilseeds industry association UFOP said on Tuesday. In the first detailed study of any German farmer's planting intentions for the new season, UFOP said plantings would rise slightly above the 1,261,700 hectares planted in the previous season.
This produced a record German rapeseed crop of 5.2 million tonnes in the summer 2004 harvest.
The study, undertaken for UFOP by German market research firm Kleffmann, involved questioning 920 farmers throughout Germany.
"Good market perspectives and the high value of rapeseed in crop rotation...have led to a considerable expansion of winter rapeseed in recent years," said a UFOP statement at a press conference during the Eurotier farming trade fair.
"A more significant expansion of the winter rapeseed area for the summer 2005 harvest was hindered by the late winter wheat harvest in late areas in north Germany," it said.