Sunflowerseed production in the USA and Argentina is expected to increase while yields in the EU-27 have been limited due to poor growing conditions, according to forecasts by the International Grains Council (IGC) reported by Biofuels International.
According to the IGC, US sunflowerseed production is expected to reach 1.3M tonnes, which would be a 45% increase compared to the previous year, while a 8.7% production increase in Argentina would bring volumes to a record 4.4M tonnes.
Global sunflowerseed production in the 2022/23 crop year was expected to be around 52.1M tonnes, which would be 700,000 tonnes more than forecast in September, but 7.9% down on the previous year’s total.
While Russia was forecast to produce 6.5% more sunflowerseed in the current year than in 2021/22, Ukraine’s supply was expected to reduce by a third due to the ongoing war and a decline in sunflower area, the 2 November report said.
Just less than half the Ukrainian planted area had reportedly been harvested by 14 October, Biofuels International wrote. However, rain had recently delayed harvesting operations and had increased concerns about a considerable drop in quality.
Despite an expansion in planted area, EU production, at 9.5M tonnes, was also expected to be down around 8.9% compared to the previous year as poor growing conditions had significantly reduced the yield potential.
