Category: Sunflower Seeds

Acreage Expansion: Sunflower seeds planting area increased by 3.7% (+468.9 ha) to approximately 13,122 ha for the 2025 season. Yield Dynamics: 2024 sunflower yields in the Dnipropetrovsk cluster fell by 8 centners/ha year-on-year due to adverse weather, but still outperformed the regional average. High-Oleic Focus: High-oleic sunflower seeds accounted for about 3,000 tons (~20% of…

Bearish near term: Rapid influx of Argentine sunflower seeds equal to roughly one-sixth to one-seventh of Bulgaria’s annual output is creating immediate oversupply and price pressure. Inventory overhang: Around 600,000 tons of Bulgarian sunflower seeds remain in storage, intensifying competition with cheaper imports. Regulatory risk: Industry demands strict testing of imports for residues from EU-banned…

Scale of imports: Bulgaria has contracted up to 400,000 tons of Argentine sunflower seeds, equivalent to around 26–27% of its 1.5 million ton domestic crop. Regional impact: Combined Bulgarian and Romanian purchases could exceed 500,000 tons, significantly boosting sunflower seed availability for Balkan processors. Price arbitrage: Argentine FOB values at $470–500/MT and CIF Bulgaria at…

VNIIMK confirmed Surus and Klip as the leading sunflower hybrids for 2025 plantings in Stavropol Krai, supporting continuity in regional sunflower output. New winter rapeseed hybrid Debut joins established varieties Elvis and Selegor, signaling gradual but controlled diversification in rapeseed genetics. FLIZ and VNIIMK 620 FN lead oilseed flax volumes, while Vilana Beta, Vita, and…

Import Surge: Bulgaria is set to receive up to 400,000 tonnes of Argentine sunflower seeds, equal to roughly 26–27% of its domestic harvest. Price Pressure: Competitively priced Argentine sunflower at about €520/t DAP Varna/Burgas is likely to pressure Black Sea sunflower seed prices in the near term. Processing Impact: More than 500,000 tonnes of imports…

USDA lifted Turkey’s 2025/26 sunflower seed import forecast to 1 million tons, a six-year high, amid domestic crop shortfalls. EU sunflower seed exports to Turkey surged to 758,000 tons in Sep–Nov 2025/26, a 26-fold increase year-on-year. Black Sea sunflower oil flows to Turkey dropped sharply, with Ukraine down nearly 30% and Russia down 15% in…

Bullish: Ukrainian sunflower seed prices rose to UAH 29,000–29,800/t CPT on tight farmer supply and strong crusher demand driven by firm export oil values. Bullish: Healthy crush margins and a UAH 1,400–1,700/t premium for high-oil seeds signal persistent competition among processors for limited stocks. Bullish: Farmer selling has resumed but remains insufficient to cover crushers’…

Policy shift likely: Kazakhstan’s APDC has recommended a gradual reduction of sunflower export duties after finding the current structure inappropriate and harmful to producers. Export decline risk: Sunflower seed exports from Kazakhstan are projected to fall by about 20% by the end of 2025 under existing restrictive measures. Farmer margin squeeze: Pavlodar region growers are…

Key Takeaways Policy Shift: Kazakhstan’s competition authority has recommended a gradual reduction of the €100/ton sunflower seeds export duty after deeming it economically unviable. Farmer Squeeze: Sunflower farmers face losses as processors deduct the full €100/ton duty from domestic purchase prices, while exports have fallen 20% and warehouses are overflowing. Trade Flows: A duty rollback…

Sunflower seeds: Russia has secured 42.9 thousand tons for the 2026 sowing campaign, covering 97% of domestic demand. Overall seed self-sufficiency: Domestic seed share in the agro-industrial complex has risen to 69.3% in 2024, up from around 60% in 2022. Export footprint: Russian-bred seeds are now supplied to 35 countries, reflecting growing competitiveness in regional…