Oilseeds News, 24th / May / 2024

On a weekly basis (Friday to yesterday, Thursday), rapeseed gained in the August term on the Matif. An increase of 16.25 euros per tonne was achieved in the trading days of this week to date, with a closing price of 495 euros per tonne yesterday (Thursday). Rapeseed was already approaching the 500 euro per tonne mark yesterday. Firm trends are also evident on the cash markets. The flooding around Pentecost in the southwest is also likely to have had a significant impact on some rapeseed stocks. In the east and north-east, on the other hand, some stocks are suffering from drought. This week, the EU Commission published fresh import figures for the first time since the end of March. These show that rapeseed imports are below the volume of the previous year. In the first 45 calendar weeks of the current marketing year, 4.87 million tons were imported. At this time last year, the figure was already 6.795 million tons. Soybean imports are also slightly below the previous year's level. Soybean meal imports were also slightly lower. Demand for rapeseed meal remains strong on the cash markets. The available supply remains manageable. Nevertheless, rapeseed meal prices are trending somewhat weaker regionally. In its third harvest forecast, the German Raiffeisen Association has significantly lowered its harvest expectations for Germany compared to the April forecast. In particular, slightly lower acreages are responsible for the decline in the production estimate. The experts now expect a production of 3.877 million tons. In the previous year, 4.23 million tons were harvested.

The soy complex was volatile this week, but was able to make slight gains over the week. The weather situation in the USA is causing delays in sowing and has repeatedly driven price developments. Weak export demand in the USA and price competition for soybeans continue to have a negative impact. There are currently rumors on the market that China wants to buy larger quantities of soybeans in the USA. There is talk of at least two shiploads. However, these rumors have not been officially confirmed. Soybean meal has been under pressure several times in the week now ending due to export demand. The weak demand for soybean meal was mainly reflected in lower processing figures published in the previous week. Storms in South America and flooding in Brazil are also making people skeptical about logistics and harvest expectations here.