COCERAL expects good average rapeseed harvest in 2025
In its Dec. 24 forecast for 2025, COCERAL estimates the EU rapeseed harvest to be around 19.5 million tons (previous year: 17.4 million tons), once again above the average level of the last five years (18.2 million tons). The main reasons for this are the +5.8 % increase in acreage and +6.3 % higher yield expectations compared to the weak previous year.
In France, the EU's largest rapeseed growing region, the 2025 rapeseed harvest is expected to be just over 4 million tons, around 3.7% higher than in the previous year. Higher yields per hectare should more than compensate for the reduced cultivation area.
In Germany, yields are also expected to be higher than in the previous year at 35 dt/ha with little change in acreage. However, at 3.8 million tons, the 2025 harvest will remain below previous results.
In Poland, the 3rd largest production region, a high harvest of 3.5 million tons is expected with a slight increase in acreage and a trend towards higher yields.
In Romania, a harvest of 2.2 million tons is estimated compared to the previous year's 1.1 million tons. Both the larger acreage and good average yields per hectare are expected to contribute to the result.
Higher harvests are also expected in the remaining small EU countries.
Overall, it should be noted that the EU rapeseed harvest in 2025 is particularly dependent on the high average yield expectations in addition to the increased cultivation area. This entails a certain estimation risk because a high yield dependency on the weather must be taken into account. On the other hand, the increased acreage provides a certain stability effect.
An initial rough estimate suggests that the supply situation will improve in 2025 compared to the previous year. The forward prices on the exchanges for the harvest month of August 2025 show prices of € 460/t compared to current prices well above the € 500/t line. However, rapeseed prices are strongly influenced by other oil crops such as palm oil and soybeans.
