Development of the US sunflower crop remains behind the five-year average. Warm and dry weather will be needed in the near to medium term to bring the crop to maturity. The reduction in planted acres this year will make seed stocks very tight this coming marketing year which will keep seed prices firm. Desiccation of earlier planted sunflowers may be a good alternative to speed up harvest and take advantage of higher nearby prices offered by crushers, birdfood buyers and confection processors. Oil World is projecting world sunflower production at 36 million MT for 2011/12 with Russia and Ukraine being the largest producers. As a result sunflower seed exports are expected to increase by 40% from last year. Russia and Ukraine are also expected to be the main exporters of sun oil in the months ahead. At the moment growing conditions are favorable for oilseeds in general. However any change to the current weather pattern will cause the market to react based on the weather forecast. Outside markets will also continue to influence commodity prices in the near term as financial issues dominate European Union and US news.