South Africa Poised to Break Last Year Record Oilseeds Harvest

South Africa is projected to keep reaching new records in oilseeds production, a trend that is expected to reduce dependence on oilseed imports.  Last crop year 2017/18 set historical record of 2.5 million MT of oilseeds output.  However, that record is expected to be broken in the coming 2018/19 season as production is forecast to increase to 2.6 million MT, according to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) GAIN report.  

Soyabean production in the country increased by 18% to a record 1.6 million MT in 2017/18 on 787,200 ha.  This boosted overall production upwards, compensating for drops in sunflower seed and peanut.  For the 2018/19 season, the USDA forecasts a new record in planted area as well at 1.6 million ha, continuing a 10-year positive trend in plantings resulting from greater demand created through an expansion in domestic soyabean processing capacity.  

The larger oilseeds planting area came partially at the expense of corn planted area, with corn farmers switching to oilseeds-particularly soyabean due to low corn prices stemming from large carryover stocks.  The expected record production was also poised to lead to the highest recorded South African oilseed crush in 2018/2019 at 2.2 million MT, 5% more than estimated 2.1 million MT crushed in 2017/18.