Bulgaria purchased about 400,000 tons of sunflower from Argentina, increasing pressure on oilseeds in the EU

In the coming weeks, Bulgaria will receive the first ship with 40,000 tons of Argentine sunflower seeds out of a total volume of 400,000 tons, which should be delivered by the end of February - beginning of March.

If ten ships with sunflower from Argentina arrive on schedule, total sunflower imports to the region (including supplies to Romania) will reach almost 500,000 tons, which will significantly affect the balance of oilseed crops in the Balkans.

Bulgaria's own sunflower production is about 1.5 million tons, so additional imports of almost 25% of the crop will change the competitive situation in the market and increase pressure on prices.

Typically, Argentine sunflower is cheaper than Bulgarian, so local processors are interested in importing it.

The increase in import volumes is also being driven by the restraint in sales by Bulgarian farmers, who expect prices to rise amid low harvests in Romania, Bulgaria, and Ukraine.