EU oilseeds: growing domestic production, but high need for imports remains Around 33 million tonnes of oilseeds in the form of rapeseed, soybeans and sunflowers are produced in the EU internal market. However, a further 21.3 million t of imports are required to cover demand. In its April 2023 issue, the EU-KOM estimates the EU rapeseed harvest at around 20 million tonnes compared to the previous year's 19.5 million tonnes. The basis is an increased area under cultivation of around 6 million ha. The area yield is estimated at 3.3 t per ha. Despite the increase in production, the EU-27 remains an importing country. For 2023/24, imports are expected to drop to 5.8 million t (previous year 6.5 million t). At the same time, the EU COM balanced the supply of soya in the EU internal market . A soybean harvest of 2.8 million t (previous year 2.4 million t) is expected for the year 2023/24. However, the area under cultivation is only seen at 1 million hectares. For the consumption of 16.5 million t, imports of around 14 million t are therefore still required. In the EU-27, a sunflower harvest of around 10.5 milliont is expected and, following the weak previous year, is expected to return to the magnitude of previous years. A higher acreage and above-average yields per hectare in the Eastern European production areas with favorable weather conditions are largely responsible for the result. However, 1.5 million t of imports are still required to cover consumption. After several years of below-average harvests in the EU oilseed sector, production in 2023/24 is expected to be well above average again, as in earlier times. Since consumption is significantly higher, oilseed imports are estimated at a somewhat reduced 21.3 million tons.
