The harvest should reach 410,000 tons, according to ZF calculations based on the productivity forecast issued by the European Commission in June, four times the 2012 harvest, because most of last year’s crop was lost due to the unfavorable weather conditions.
“I don’t want to exaggerate but I think I’ll get 3.5 to 4 tons of rapeseed per hectare. I planted 2,000 hectares this year, more than I ever did,” said Valentin Dide, a farmer working about 6,000 hectares in Teleorman County (southern Romania) via his company Agrointer.
“It’s the most profitable crop and generates profits of over EUR1,000 per hectare at times.”
A production of 3.5 to 4 tons per hectare is double the average in the country and shows how important this crop is for farmers with semi-industrial and industrial farms.
The allure of the rapeseed crop resides in the high prices one can get for it.
“Costs are about EUR1,000 per hectare,” Valentin Dide says. A simple calculation shows that a farmer gets EUR1,600 revenue at a four ton/hectare production. This makes for a 37.5% margin given the total costs of EUR1,000.
The first prices mentioned on the market point to EUR380 to EUR400 per ton, 15% less than last year.
Despite the price decline, rapeseed remains a high-margin crop.
Rapeseed production in Romania has been going up since 2007, staying above 500,000 tons.
The only significant decline occurred last year and this year’s harvest looks like it will be close to the 2007 level.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)
Rapeseed harvest in 2007-2012 and 2013 estimate
|
Year |
Total (tons) |
|
2007 |
361,000 |
|
2008 |
673,000 |
|
2009 |
569,000 |
|
2010 |
943,000 |
|
2011 |
746,000 |
|
2012 |
150,000 |
|
2013 |
410,000 |
Source: Agriculture Ministry, 2013 estimate was calculated by ZF based on European Commission June productivity forecast