HAMBURG (Reuters) — Germany is likely to harvest 5.5 million tonnes of rapeseed in summer 2013, up from 4.82 million tonnes in 2012 when crops were hit by repeated rain, the German Farmers’ Association said on Wednesday.
Rapeseed is the European Union’s most important oilseed for edible oil and biodiesel production and is also a major source of animal feed. The estimated output for this year would put the crop within Germany’s normal range.
The association is traditionally conservative in its harvest forecasts.
German oilseeds analysts Oil World estimates Germany will harvest 5.75 million tonnes this year, while Germany’s largest grain trader Toepfer forecast the crop at 6.04 million tonnes.
German farmers are currently making good progress with rapeseed harvesting, although showers in some regions interrupted work, the association said.
Heavy thunderstorms and even hailstorms had caused some damage to rapeseed in south and east Germany, it said.
