Given South Africa's poor resource endowments coupled with the ongoing deregulation and liberalisation of agriculture, it is of the utmost importance that resources are used in the most optimal manner to ensure international competitiveness. Since oilseeds constitute one of the most important field crops in South Africa, the comparative economic advantages (CEA) of sunflower seeds, groundnuts and soya-beans were calculated for different regions classified as low yielding, high yielding and irrigation areas. The results show that (a) the extent of developing new cultivars with improved yield potential will largely determine the comparative advantage of oilseeds in areas where agro-ecological conditions are poor; (b) distortionary policies on the input side is one of the main factors influencing the comparative advantage of the primary oilseeds industry; (c) the introduction of a water rate will have serious implications far irrigated oilseeds; and (d) increased efficiency fanns the basis far being competitiveness.