Sunflower prices see mixed results

Prices at the crush plants ended the week mixed at down 20 cents to up 20 cents. Sunflower harvest should be starting soon as many acres are maturing quickly and could be desiccated to begin harvest. Desiccating the crop for early harvest is a great way to stay ahead of potential bird damage. Based on the latest figures from the USDA Farm Service Agency crop acreage report, area planted to sunflower in 2018 decreased slightly from 2017. Using a trend yield, initial estimates peg the U.S. sunflower crop at around 875,000 million tons, which compares to last year’s total of 984,000 million tons. If realized this level of production will create very tight ending stocks at the end of the 2018/19 marketing year. The U.S. slapped tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, intensifying the trade spat. U.S. importers of the Chinese products will face a 10 percent duty on the goods starting September 24 and rises to 25 percent on January 1, 2019. Chinese sunflower seeds and kernel are among the targeted products. The president has indicated that if China takes retaliatory action against U.S. farmers or other industries, the US will immediately pursue phase three, which is tariffs on approximately $267 billion of additional imports. Tariffs have been issued on more than $250 billion in Chinese goods in total. Adding another $267 billion would cover essentially all Chinese exports to the U.S.