Nearby sunflower prices were down 25 cents to unchanged this week at the crush plants. New crop prices slid 55 cents to $1.25 lower as the market has begun to transition toward the 2023-24 market year.
Aug. 11 was a huge day for commodity markets as USDA released its latest supply and demand report and first report of FSA certified acres. USDA trimmed new crop soybean production average yield by a bushel to 50.9 bushels per acre, which dropped projected new crop production to 4.205 billion bushels. Both changes were within analysts’ pre-report estimate range. USDA boosted old crop soybean ending stocks to 260 million bushels, which was on the high end of analyst estimates. USDA raised beginning stocks for the 2023-24 season by 5 mb.
On the demand side, USDA lowered exports by 25 mb, dropping total use correspondingly. The net result was a 55 mb decline in ending stocks to 245 mb, which was also within the range of pre-report estimates. USDA Farm Service Agency released its initial reported acres figures this week for all crops. Oil-type sunflower planted acreage was pegged at 1.14 million acres with confection acres at 149,400. The figures were within the average trade estimates. FSA will update the acreage report in mid-September. USDA will provide their initial yield and production estimates for 2023 oil-type and confection sunflower crops in October.
