Argentine Oilseed Prospects Dry Up In 2018

Argentina’s three major oilseed crops—soybeans, peanuts, and sunflower seeds—have all experienced challenges in 2018 that have reduced their production outlooks. A new report published by the USDA indicates peanut production at 792,000 tons, the lowest in 10 years due to unstable weather conditions and disease issues. Sunflower seeds fared better than peanuts and soybeans, but ongoing challenges with managing downy mildew disease threaten next year’s crop, which is forecast to expand in acreage by 200,000 hectares in 2019.

Widespread drought is mainly to blame for the downturn in soybean and peanut production, which have fallen 37 and 40 percent, respectively, from initial production estimates. Argentina is the world’s third largest soybean producer behind the United States (US) and Brazil, and the largest exporter of soybean oil and meal. However, in 2018 Argentina is set to import 3.9 million tonnes of soybeans, mainly from the US and Paraguay. That’s its largest volume ever, intended to supplement crush levels and protein content. Farmers hope that new drought resistant soybeans introduced to Argentine agriculture may mitigate soil moisture concerns for future crops. Gro Intelligence subscribers can easily stay up-to-date on oilseed production and trade data by using our data and analytics.

The visualization on the left illustrates Argentina's oilseed crop production over time. The left axis charts peanut and sunflower seed production in tonnes and the right axis (in green) charts soybean production in tonnes. The visualization on the right highlights Argentina's soybean oil and cake and meal export volumes compared to the combined volumes of the United States and Brazil.