Brazil goes to the rapeseed market

The world produces 25 million tons of rapeseed and its commercial variety canola, while Brazil currently harvests only 135 thousand tons of rapeseed. A new rapeseed alliance in Brazil decided to change the situation.

This was reported by the Brazilian agricultural magazine Cultivar: “Orígeo, a joint venture owned by Bunge and UPL, is joining forces with Embrapa Agroenergia, Advanta Seeds and Bunge itself to launch a large-scale RedeCanola project. The initiative aims to boost the country’s rapeseed production, a crop that is not yet widely grown in Brazil but has the potential to enrich agricultural diversity and contribute to more sustainable production.

Rapeseed is the third most widely grown oilseed in the world, behind only soybeans and palm oil. However, according to Conab, its production in Brazil is modest: rapeseed occupies about 92 thousand hectares, and annual production barely exceeds 135 thousand tons.

Igor Borges, head of sustainability at Orígeo, emphasizes that “rapeseed is an economically attractive option for a second crop after soybeans or after spring corn, with high productivity and oil production potential that can exceed 40% in some cases.”

RedeCanola aims to structure the canola production chain through competitive hybrid trials that will be coordinated by Advanta and Orígeo. These trials will take place in a tropical climate-adapted growing system, both rainfed and irrigated, developed by Embrapa. “Canola has the potential to grow well in all regions of the country and will also bring significant economic benefits to farmers,” says Borges.

Bruno Laviola of Embrapa Agroenergia emphasizes that Brazil has the potential to become one of the world’s largest rapeseed producers without the need to expand its agricultural area. This is possible due to the adaptation of rapeseed to the off-season, which makes its production more sustainable, especially when the oil is intended for the production of biofuels such as biodiesel, renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and marine fuel.

In addition to being ideal for biofuel production, rapeseed oil is beneficial for human consumption due to its high content of omega-3, vitamin E, monounsaturated fats and low saturated fat. The resulting bran, which is rich in protein (34% to 38%), is also used in animal feed.

Tags: rapeseed, Brazil