Sunflower acreage in Germany continues to expand, but the crop remains a niche market

German farmers are increasingly turning to sunflower as an alternative to rapeseed. Farmer Ekkehard Horrmann from Saxony-Anhalt, for example, switched to sunflower after pests caused significant losses in his rapeseed fields. According to him, the crop requires fewer crop protection products and fertilizer applications while being less susceptible to diseases.

Strong demand for vegetable oils has provided an additional boost to sunflower cultivation. However, UFOP experts note that winter rapeseed, with more than 1.1 mln ha planted, remains Germany’s dominant oilseed crop, while sunflower still accounts for only a relatively small share of the country’s acreage.

The largest sunflower-growing areas are located in the federal states of Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg, where planted area has nearly tripled over the past six years. Farmers attribute this trend to more frequent droughts and hotter summers, as sunflower is better adapted to such conditions than many other field crops.

However, experts say further expansion will depend not only on farmers but also on the development of domestic processing. German crushing plants currently rely mainly on imported sunflower seed from Eastern Europe, meaning that stronger demand for domestically produced seed and adjustments to the country’s processing infrastructure will be needed for sunseed to become a more significant crop.

Tags: sunseed, Germany, sown area