This week we have a series of domestic data releases. Yesterday SAGIS released its monthly figures, today the Crop Estimate Committee will publish its final production forecasts for 2017/18 sunflower seed crop and other summer crops, and producer deliveries data are due tomorrow.
- A closer look at SAGIS monthly numbers shows that South Africa’s sunflower seed consumption amounted to 79 017 tonnes in August 2018, down by 14 percent from last month and 10 percent from the corresponding period last year. This, however, was still above the long-term average consumption.
- Furthermore, the ending stock was recorded at 538 681 tonnes in August 2018, down by 8 percent from the volume seen the previous month and 15 percent from the corresponding period last year. This is partially due to the fact that the 2017/18 harvest is slightly lower than the previous season’s crop.
- In terms of trade, South Africa imported 213 tonnes of sunflower seed in August 2018. About 61 percent of this originated from Malawi, with 39 percent from Botswana. This placed South Africa’s sunflower see imports at 682 tonnes, well above the market expectations of 500 tonnes of imports in the 2018/19 marketing year.
- In August 2018, the Crop Estimate Committee placed its production estimate at 858 605 tonnes, up by 8 percent from the previous season partly due to expectations of better yields. A large share of the expected harvest had already been delivered to commercial silos.
- In the week of 14 September 2018, South Africa’s 2018/19 producer deliveries were at 848 713 tonnes, which equates to 99 percent of the expected harvest. This suggests that the Crop Estimate Committee could leave the sunflower seed production estimate unchanged from the previous month. AGBIZ
