Argentina Sunflowerseed: Scattered Showers and High Seed Moisture Delay Harvest

A combination of factors, including late planting, slow crop development, and continued rainy weather, has delayed the harvest of Argentina’s 2015/16 sunflowerseed crop. The harvest campaign began slowly in southeast Buenos Aires Province, and field work was delayed during March as farmers waited for complete seed fill and crop dry-down prior to combining the crop. Early harvest reports from northern Argentina indicate high yields, but harvesting has continued as rains move through the area. Central and southwestern Buenos Aires and southern La Pampa continue to report slow harvest progress and harvest interruptions. Argentina’s sunseed output for 2015/16 is estimated at 2.6 million metric tons, down 18 percent from last year. Harvested area is estimated at 1.3 million hectares, down 10 percent from last year and about the same as in 2013/14. The estimated yield is down 8.7 percent from last season but 4.2 percent above the 5-year average.
Warm weather and high humidity during January, February, and March contributed to increased weed and disease infestation. Fungicide sprayings have been necessary to prevent disease in much of the crop remaining in the fields. A lack of adequate weed control along with heavy rain in the last half of February resulted in abundant weed growth, which slowed combine operations, increased the moisture content of harvested crops, and contaminated the collected seed. In order to maximize the price received for the crop, Argentine farmers will have to segregate field harvests based on the level of weed infestation and the amount of impurities in the harvested crop.
Nearly all of Argentina’s sunflowerseed crop is crushed for oil, and between one-third and one-half of the oil is exported. One-half to two-thirds of the resulting meal is consumed domestically by the country’s growing poultry and livestock sector.

Current USDA area and production estimates for grains and other agricultural commodities are available on IPAD's Agricultural Production page or at PSD Online.

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