India’s Rapeseed Production to Recover in 2022/23, Global Rapeseed Production Also Estimated Higher

A sharp rise in price levels in 2020-2021 has encouraged the farmers to plant more of the rapeseed crop, in the major producing nations. The 2021-22 global rapeseed production is projected by the USDA at 71.38 million metric tons, up 203,000 metric tons from last month and the estimate has been raised because of higher production expectations for India.

India’s rapeseed production is projected at 11 million metric tons, up by 200,000 metric tons from last month as harvest nears completion and reported yields are higher than previously expected. For the Indian rapeseed crop, most of the trading community expects India to produce approximately 11.46 million metric tons of rapeseed and mustard. In the fiscal year 2021, India produced around 10.21 million tonnes of the crop. The peak arrival period will be over in the Indian markets in the next few weeks.

The USDA has also raised the world's rapeseed production as higher production in Australia is only partly offset by a lower EU estimate. Australian rapeseed production is revised this month, to 5.4 million metric tons, which is 7 Lakh metric tons above the previous month’s estimate. The planted acreage continues to expand in Australia because of high prices.

The European Union rapeseed production on the other hand has been revised lower this month by 250,000 metric tons to 18.25 million metric tons on lower yields. The rapeseed yields are lowered this month from 3.19 metric tons per hectare to 3.15 metric tons per hectare due to unfavorable weather in May, particularly for France. The USDA has kept the European rapeseed crush unchanged at 22.5 million metric tons despite the downward revision in rapeseed production.

This was done because of higher rapeseed imports. The Agriculture Department of the US now expects the European Union to import 5.6 million metric tons of rapeseed in 2022/23, which is 0.6 million metric tons up from last year. Ending stocks in the European Union are projected at 691,000 metric tons. The ending stocks had reached record low levels in 2021-22 at nearly 366,000 metric tons.