Sunflower markets continue downward trend

Old and new crop sunflower prices lost ground a week ago under the weight of the ongoing U.S.-China trade situation. Overall the oilseed complex is under enormous pressure right now and this finally spilled over into the sunflower market, which had seen a significant uptrend in prices for most of this marketing year. If producers have not priced some 2018 new crop it might be an opportunity to do so as new crop is still every close to the season highs. The U.S. recently imposed tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports. China had said it would retaliate with punitive measures on U.S. products worth a similar amount, including soybeans, pork and cotton. U.S. soybeans entering China now face an extra 25 percent tariffon top of the 3 percent duty assessed on all imported soybeans. There are rumors that the United States may ultimately target over $500 billion worth of Chinese goods, or roughly the total amount of U.S. imports from China last year. If it escalates to $500 billion as rumored, then it’s going to have a significant impact for both countries.