Low sunflower harvest threatens Bulgaria's processing industry
According to international agencies, in 2024/25, sunflower production in the Balkans and the Black Sea region will decrease compared to the previous season by 5.86 million tons, from 38.86 to 33 million tons, which does not meet even pessimistic expectations.
It is expected that the countries of the region will harvest the following amount of sunflower:
- Turkey - 1.3 million tons,
- Bulgaria - 1.45 million tons,
- Romania – 1.8 million tons,
- Ukraine - 12.5 million tons,
- Russian Federation - 16 million tons.
Sunflower quality will also be worse than last year. According to AgroPortal.bg , seed oil content in Romania will decrease compared to 2023 from 44.03% to 43.08%, in Bulgaria - from 43.78% to 42.35% (and will become the worst in the region), while in Turkey will grow from 43.36% to 43.69%.
If in 2023 Bulgaria imported almost 0.9 million tons of sunflower from Ukraine, this year it will not be the same, since the reduction of the harvest in the region will make it difficult to import, and Ukraine will increase the volume of its own processing, which will increase competition.
Factories in Bulgaria can process about 4 million tons of sunflower per year, while this year's harvest will be only 1.5 million tons. This will reduce the prospects of processing and create tangible risks for the Bulgarian processing industry, the agency notes.
