The ongoing sunflowerseed harvest in Argentina is projected be around 1.5 tonnes larger than forecast in February to reach 7M tonnes, according to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data reported by Germany’s Union for the Promotion of Plants and Protein (UFOP).
This would be the largest harvest in 28 years, mainly due to an expansion in planted area for the 2026 harvest at the expense of cotton, particularly in northern Argentina, the 18 March report said.
With harvest operations expected to continue until April and encouraging yields to date, the USDA had increased its forecast by 0.3 decitonnes/ha to 23.3 decitonnes/ha, matching the previous year’s result.
The USDA also revised its forecast for the Ukrainian harvest.
According to research by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft, the country’s harvest is projected at 11M tonnes, around 500,000 tonnes more than expected in February although the smallest harvest in 12 years.
The USDA further increased the crop outlook for Kazakhstan by 64,000 tonnes to 2.5M tonnes, representing an increase of approximately 700,000 tonnes compared to 2024/25.
Global sunflowerseed production was expected to total 54.1M tonnes in the current marketing season, according to USDA.
This figure was 2.1M tonnes higher than previously expected but also exceeded the previous year’s level of almost 52.1M tonnes, the report said.
