EU Commission expects smallest EU sunflower seed crop in nine years

Poor weather conditions this year have considerably reduced sunflower yields across the EU.
Notwithstanding an expansion in production area, total output remains well below previous years.
According to EU Commission estimates, EU sunflower seed production in 2024 amounted to just over 8.1 million tonnes.
This represents a 17% drop from 2023 and is also the smallest harvest since 2015. Although the sunflower area increased 4% to 4.9 million hectares, the expansion did not offset the 20 per cent yield decline to 16.7 decitonnes per hectare.
These lowest yields seen in 12 years are due to the unfavourable weather conditions throughout the growing season.
Romania remains the most important production region in the EU-27 with a record 1.3 million hectares planted with sunflowers.
However, the country's output of 1.2 million tonnes falls far short of the previous year's 2 million tonnes.
According to research by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft, production in Germany declined for the second consecutive year in 2024.
Nevertheless, the area planted with sunflowers remains well above the level recorded before Russia's attack on Ukraine. In the wake of the attack, many farmers in Germany had expanded their sunflower areas significantly in 2022.
Abundant rainfall recently also fuelled concerns over the yield potential in France. The EU Commission recently projected just under 1.8 million tonnes, which would be a 14 per cent drop from 2023.