An acute shortage of rapeseed supplies in Germany, one of Europe’s largest producers, is hampering raw material supplies to processors and threatens to undermine the sector’s profitability in the coming weeks.
Trade representatives also warn of a drop in demand at current prices for rapeseed oil and estimate that the country needs to provide 1.4 million tons of raw materials to keep plants running.
“German oil refiners are in a critical situation because they are not getting the amount of raw material they need to process,” said Stefan Arens of the German oilseeds union UFOP.
“Companies are struggling to get tons of oilseeds needed for processing in factories,” according to a market participant.
Experts attribute this to the fact that canola oil prices have reached a multi-year high – further stimulating oilseed processing amid strong economics.
According to a recent estimate, the cost of rapeseed oil based on FOB Rotterdam has averaged 1.632 EUR per ton since January 1, 2022, which is almost 90% more than a year earlier. This is one of the highest prices since 2018.