Romania remains the EU’s largest producer of sunflower seed

According to a forecast from the EU Commission, the supply of sunflower seed in the EU-27 is expected to significantly exceed the previous year's volume in the 2025/26 marketing season.

The estimate is based on higher yield expectations, despite a 4% reduction in production area.

The EU Commission projects a sunflower seed harvest of 9.7 million tonnes for 2025. This would represent a 17% increase on the previous year, when disappointing yields limited production.

With a projected 2.2 million tonnes and 50% rise, Romania is once again expected to top the list of EU producers, followed by Bulgaria with 1.9 million tonnes (up just over 16% year-on-year).

France is also seen to harvest more than in 2024, with 1.8 tonnes currently projected, reflecting a rise of just over 22%.

Harvests in Hungary and Spain are expected to reach 1.8 million tonnes (down 1%) and 862,000 tonnes (up just over 1%), respectively.

Italy's harvest is also projected to grow, reaching 288,000 tonnes (up around 1%). For Greece, the EU Commission anticipates a significant harvest increase, projecting a 38% rise year-on-year to 215,000 tonnes.

Compared to the major producers of sunflower seed, Germany only plays a secondary role in the EU, with output estimated at 128,000 tonnes.

According to research by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft, the general increase in supply of sunflower seed in the EU-27 is mainly based on expected higher yields, which are forecast to rise just over 21% to, on average, approximately 21 decitonnes per hectare, as the EU sunflower area has been reduced 4% to 4.6 million hectares.