Avena Nordic Grain, part of Finnish food industry group Apetit, has developed a new, sustainable, plant-protein-fibre ingredient: BlackGrain from Yellow Fields. Since 2017 they were working on the new rapeseed-based protein and fibre powder, which is made from seed expellers by a patent-protected process. With this the company wants to bring a new vegetable protein to the market which was inaccessible before. BlackGrain is a three-in-one combination of plant protein (33-43 %), dietary fibre (33-43 %) and encapsulated rapeseed oil (14,22 %). Additionally, it consists of the full range of essential amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids and delivers minerals like calcium and magnesium. The novel food proposal will now move forward to the European Commission, which is expected to make its decision regarding the authorization by the beginning of 2021.

The European import demand for rapeseed in the coming 20/21 season is expected to exceed the record level of last season once again. The import demand from Australia could thus be doubled, as not only the EU's own production is once again in short supply due to drought, but also other countries from which the EU normally imports a lot of rapeseed will have a small harvest (Ukraine). In addition, Canadian oilseed rape is less favored in the EU due to its GMO-content. This European supply shortage had been helping to support canola prices, despite temporarily reduced demand for biodiesel.

Canada is the world's biggest canola producer.  As top oilseed buyer China Chinese blocked canola shipments by two Canadian exporters since March 2019, the rest of the market should be well supplied, but exporters find roundabout ways to reach China. China is buying less from Canada directly, it has bought canola oil instead from Europe, Russia, Australia and the United Arab Emirates, with some of that oil made from Canadian canola and Canadian canola prices have soared to the highest level in nearly two years. In fact, Canadian canola exports to China fell 45 % year over year during the                  11-month period through June, however total canola exports have jumped 9 %, helped by a tripling of sales to France and double the shipments to the UAE. The global canola oil demand has also prompted Canadian crushers to process canola at a brisk pace and bad crop weather and insect attacks in Europe have also lifted prices (rapeseed production in the European Union and Britain is expected near the 13-year low seen in 2019).

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus recently published the new crop yield estimation for 2020. Winter rapeseed farmers in Belarus reached 2.5 t/ha (+ 0.4 t/ha vs. 2019), the highest yield level since 2014. After several difficult years with challenging growing conditions, farmers appreciate more & more the higher yield level of new rapeseed hybrids and show an increasing willingness to invest in a sustainable production. This will stabilize the sowing area for the coming years on a bigger level.

According to the latest harvest forecast for Germany (DRV), this year's yield, acreage and production of winter oilseed rape will be higher than previously assumed. The national average is now expected to reach 3.54 t/ha, which is an increase of 7 % compared to the previous year. In the current RAPOOL harvest monitoring, in which 290 farmers have participated so far, an average yield of 4.2 t/ha was even achieved with the RAPOOL varieties, which also represents a welcome increase in yield compared to last year. In addition, about 80 % stated that the RAPOOL varieties did not show any lodging and are very stable. More than 70 % of the respondents also confirmed that the RAPOOL genetic is easy or even very easy to thresh.

Rapeseed yields are currently struggling in the UK, as the estimated average yield is only 2.6 – 3.0 t/ha, based on those fields that were taken to harvest. This is currently 14-26 % down on the 5-year average of 3.5 t/ha and a result of poor establishment, pest damage (cabbage stem flea beetle, pigeon, slugs)  and then poor over winter survival. About 70 – 75 Kha were already written off in May, but there are also some nice yield results with 4.7 t/ha when the establishment was good or later sown rapeseed was less affected by pests. Otherwise the yields dropped down to 0.5 t/ha.