Rapeseed: Farmers are hopeful for favorable weather
March 29, 2018 at 10:52 AM ,
Starry Night Ltd.
BULGARIA. After the surprising cold snap of several days ago, accompanied by unexpected snow and showers throughout the country, the current weather conditions have eased. It is high time fieldwork started, but the majority of fields have accumulated ample reserves of moisture, making it difficult for farmers to enter plots. Except those fields that have been overflooded, the general conditions of crops look good; in addition, farmers believe the low temperatures of weeks ago have not negatively affected the development of oilseed crops.
Rapeseed: strong season left behind
The buying spree, characteristic of early buoyant trade activities after the end of harvest, is long gone. National production of rapeseed on an annual basis could not be compared to that of Romania, let alone that of Ukraine, and thus, prospects of local farmers have always been rosy. After all, the great majority of the crop is briskly bought out in the few months after rapeseed has been collected from fields. Indeed, since internal consumption represents a small share on an annual basis – last year, domestic demand represented a share of 16.22% out of national output, which accounted to 509,251 mt – the greater quantities of the grains are exported. Customarily, the greatest share of exports goes to countries of the Union, as currently, shipped volumes to EU markets represent a share of 85.12% out of national output 2017-18. It goes without a saying that provided the country had produced a higher output, a higher export rate would have been undoubtedly realized. Smaller quantities go to non-EU markets, as up-to-date export data shows shipped volumes to such destinations to represent only a 7.13% out of aggregate output.
|
Harvest 2017-18 (01.07.2017 – 23.03.2018) units in MT |
|
|
Beginning availability |
25,000 |
|
Aggregate output |
458,110 |
|
Imports |
32,655 |
|
Domestic consumption |
52,000 |
|
oil & biodiesel production |
52,000 |
|
Exports to the world |
423,461 |
|
to EU markets |
389,965 |
|
to rest of the world |
33,496 |
Source: Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture
Already in the beginning of the spring season, farmers are hopeful for favorable weather conditions ahead since sudden changes in meteorological conditions could easily disfavor their bets for a strong upcoming harvest.
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