One of the reasons for the increase in the amount of land planted with rapeseed this fall is its high price. The rapeseed harvest is put at 155,000 tons this year, 76% lower than in 2011.
Market data show the poor harvest caused prices to double compared with 2011 to 2,500 lei (EUR555). The rapeseed contributed about EUR300 million to the economy last year. This crop, planted on 5% of the total arable land will contribute a little less than EUR100 million to the 2012 agricultural yield value, according to ZF calculations.
“I had about 1,200 hectares planted with rapeseed last year but I’ve got some 700 left because the rest was lost to the drought. I’ve planted about 1,000 hectares this year,” said Valentin Dride, a farmer working approximately 6,000 hectares of arable land in Teleorman County (southern Romania) via the Agrointer company. “Prices are now higher because there wasn’t much of a harvest but next spring’s crop depends on the rain directly. If it rains in the next three to four weeks, we’ll have good harvests of rapeseed, barley and wheat.”
In his turn, Nicolae Sitaru, who farms 2,000 hectares in Ialomita County (southern Romania) says he increased the area of land planted with rapeseed by 40% to 350 hectares. He, too, said the crop was at risk again this year, due to the weather conditions.
“I increased the area but I did it for nothing, because I think I’m going to lose it all again. There was some rain, but it wasn’t enough. After what’s happened to me these last couple of years I don’t know whether I’ll plant it again next year.”
Production data show this year’s rapeseed harvest is down about 76% to 155,000 tons, according to Coceral, a European organization of agricultural raw material traders and processors.
Many of the farmers who lost their rapeseed crops in the spring decided to replace them with spring crops like sunflower and corn. Adrian Porumboiu, one of the top three farmers in Romania increased the amount of land planted with corn and sunflower by up to 83% of the 27,000 hectares he farms via Comcereal Vaslui. He cut the amount of land cultivated with rapeseed by 30% because of the crops lost to the drought.
Although rapeseed is a drought-sensitive crop, farmers cannot resist the lure of the high prices. Rapeseed price is now RON2,500 per ton compared with an average of RON1,210/ton last year.
“Price is no longer that important now because there is no rapeseed to be found on the market. I’d have no one to buy it from even if I wanted to,” says C.N, a broker who buys grain and oilseeds from the counties in southern Romania.
Rapeseed price is on the rise on the international market, as well. Rapeseed futures contracts were trading at EUR506/ton in Paris on Wednesday, up 4.5% on the previous session.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)