Ölsaaten Cockpit, 14.09.2018

(AMI) - The German rapeseed market is quiet. Many providers complain that prices are too low, which they attribute to political decisions. Unbraked biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia as well as larger deliveries of soybeans from the USA make it difficult for rape and its by-products, including biodiesel (RME), to remain competitive. The dissatisfaction with the current rapeseed price level is particularly noticeable in agriculture - after some contract conclusions, the quantities from the 2018 harvest are now rather withheld. Many are banking on rising prices in the coming weeks and speculate on support from fixed crude oil prices. The dominant topic on the rapeseed market remains logistics; small water makes transport by ship more difficult. For example, some cargoes are said to be rape from Hungary and Slovakia. From the biodiesel industry no buying impulses came last, that paralyzes the trade with rapeseed oil and causes the oil mills in turn to order less raw material.Some assume that demand for biodiesel will revive only in the first quarter of 2019, but on the other hand, many blenders may not have fully covered their demand for winter goods (RME) for the fourth quarter of 2018 - one or the other wave of purchases in September / October is therefore not unlikely. The sowing of winter rape in Germany is currently progressing slowly, due to the low soil moisture. Market participants fear an area reduction of up to 20% compared to the previous year. Although precipitation is announced for the coming days, the sowing window is beginning to close. Ukraine, which was one of the EU's most important rapeseed suppliers for the EU-28 in 2017/18, has received contradictory reports regarding winter rape sowing. According to UkrAgroConsult, more than 80% of the total area is already ordered. This is opposed by reports of significant sowing problems.