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Supply Chain

EU, UK 2021 Rapeseed Crop 'May Recover' To 18.2m Tonnes

By Steve Wynne-Jones
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EU, UK 2021 Rapeseed Crop 'May Recover' To 18.2m Tonnes

Rapeseed production in the European Union and Britain could reach 18.2 million tonnes in 2021/22 in a slight rebound from a very low 17.2 million this year, consultancy Strategie Grains said.

A recovery in production would be limited by another difficult sowing campaign, which is expected to keep the rapeseed crop area stable compared with the last harvest at around 5.5 million hectares, it said in an oilseed report.

Strong yields could push next year's output higher, but even if the harvest matched record yields from 2014/15 rapeseed production would still be shy of 20 million tonnes, it added.

Wheat Supply Pressure

Elsewhere, Chicago wheat lost more ground on Monday, with prices dropping to their lowest in more than two months, as estimates of higher production in Australia and Canada offset worries over adverse weather in the U.S. Plains.

Soybeans and corn fell for a second consecutive session as improved weather in Brazil weighed on prices.

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"Australian crop keeps getting bigger and we could hit 34 million in the end, however, it is also leaving the country in a frantic pace," said Ole Houe, director of advisory services at agriculture brokerage IKON Commodities in Sydney.

"So, the harvest pressure will abate soon and traders may have to pay bit more to chase the grain."

Wheat is under pressure amid higher production in Canada and Australia.

Soybean Production

Dry conditions in Brazil have stoked fears that a disappointing soybean harvest would strain international supplies after China already swept up much of the new U.S. harvest. But rains in recent days have improved crop condition is some regions.

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Brazil's soybean production in the 2020/2021 cycle is expected to jump to a record of 131.79 million tonnes as high prices drove farmers to increase plantings, according to the average of 13 analysts' estimates polled by Reuters on Friday.

This represents a 5.6% rise from what the government says farmers collected last season, which was an estimated 124.8 million tonnes.

China's soybean imports in November jumped from the previous year, customs data showed, as cargoes booked from the United States following the Phase 1 trade deal cleared customs.

China, the world's top soybean buyer, brought in 9.59 million tonnes, up from 8.28 million tonnes in the same month a year earlier.

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Large speculators cut their net long position in CBOT corn futures in the week to Dec. 1, regulatory data released on Friday showed.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly commitments of traders report also showed that non-commercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, increased their net short position in CBOT wheat and cut their net long position in soybeans.

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