EU sunflower production expected lower than last year

In Germany, UFOP reports that although the sunflower area has remained constant in the EU-28, the EU Commission anticipates a sharp drop in sunflowerseed production. Yields, especially in Romania and France, could be disappointing.

According to figures just published by the EU Commission, the 2018 EU-28 sunflower area of 4.2 million hectares has remained virtually unchanged from the previous year. While Spain and Hungary each expanded their sunflower areas by around 4 per cent, Italy, Bulgaria and France reduced theirs. Growing sunflowers on more than 1 million hectares, Romania is the most important producer of sunflowerseed within the European Union. The country once more expanded its production area by 2 per cent. Nevertheless, the EU Commission anticipates a decline in output. The estimate of 9.7 million tonnes is down just less than 2 per cent from the April outlook and more than 6 per cent below the 2017 level. The reason for the lower yield expectations is the wet weather at the beginning of April 2018, which caused substantial delays in sowing in Southeast Europe and around the Mediterranean Sea.