Summer drought, which continued in the early autumn, forced European farmers to abandon the plans for the canola.

Last year's drought contributed to the decline in harvest in the EU in 2018 to a six-year low, amounting to just under 20 million tonnes. Thomas Mielke, head of Hamburg's Agency Oil World, said that the harvest this year could fall to 18.7 million tons.

Meanwhile, Christophe Baignoire, managing Director of the French enterprises for processing of oilseeds Saipol, said at a conference in Paris that the harvest in the EU could shrink to 18 million tons.

The production of rapeseed in the EU the last time it was below 19 million tonnes in 2007, when the unit is produced 18.5 million, after the production of only 16.1 million in 2006, according to the European Commission.

However, the price of canola will probably fall in the coming months after the decorrelation with other markets of oilseeds due to the reluctance of European farmers to sell and rising prices for biodiesel based on rape, said the speakers.

This price drop might happen in April-June after the winter peak demand for rapeseed oil for biodiesel that is better suited to cold conditions than other types of biodiesel feedstock, said Mielke.