German imports of Australian rapeseed up more than 150%

Canadian rapeseed imports to Germany have lost pace since January, but imports of Australian rapeseed to the German market have increased.

Although Germany’s 2020 rapeseed harvest was larger than 2019, it was nevertheless below average. This means that large rapeseed imports have been required again in the 2020-’21 marketing year. Canada, Ukraine and the Baltic countries were important suppliers of rapeseed in the first half of the season.

In the first quarter of this year, Canada and Ukraine contributed large volumes of rapeseed to Germany. Ukraine actually delivered more—169,000 metric tons—than in the same period the previous year, whereas Canada’s shipments dropped almost one fourth to 87,000 tons. The reason for the decline is that at the beginning of January, Canadian rapeseed stocks were already lower than in earlier years. France and the Netherlands provided larger shipments, as they usually do in the first quarter.

Since the turn of the year, however, Australia has been the main origin of rapeseed for Germany. In the first quarter of 2020, the country had provided only small volumes after significant harvest declines had substantially reduced its export potential. In the current season, Germany received around 335,000 tons of Australian rapeseed in the period from January to March. This translates to a more than 150 percent increase over last year’s period.