EU to harvest third-smallest sunflower seed crop in 10 years

According to UFOP, the European Commission estimates that the EU will produce approximately 8.5 million tonnes of sunflower seeds in 2025. This represents a nearly 3% increase over the disappointing 2024. The increased yield partially offset a slight decline in the EU’s cultivated area. However, this is still the third-lowest harvest in the last 10 years.

Despite the expected yield being higher than last year, the average will be 18.0 centners per hectare, which is still significantly below the long-term average of 20.1 centners per hectare. Last year, the yield was only 17.4 centners per hectare. Sunflower cultivation area in the EU decreased slightly – by approximately 0.5%, to just under 4.8 million hectares.

Romania remains the most important sunflower-growing region in the EU-27, with a reduced cultivated area of ​​1.2 million hectares. Yields are expected to be slightly higher, but still below average. Production is forecast at 1.7 million tonnes, significantly higher than last year’s 1.5 million tonnes. With an estimated harvest of nearly 1.8 million tonnes, Hungary takes the top spot among the EU’s largest producers for the second consecutive year.

In Germany, sunflower acreage has increased again in 2025, for the first time after two years of decline, according to research by the Agricultural Market Information Company (mbH). The acreage is 61,000 hectares, significantly exceeding levels before the war in Ukraine. As a result, many German farmers have significantly expanded sunflower acreage in 2022. By comparison, in 2020, the acreage was only 28,000 hectares. Given the larger acreage, Germany’s total sunflower harvest is expected to be around 150,000 tonnes, approximately 16,000 tonnes more than in 2024.

However, prolonged drought and heat during the summer months have negatively impacted French sunflower production. The European Commission recently forecast a harvest of just under 1.5 million tonnes, 25,000 tonnes less than the already disappointing 2024. This means that for the second year in a row, the harvest will be significantly below the long-term average of 1.8 million tonnes, primarily due to a reduction in cultivated area by approximately 9%.

Tags: sunseed, Germany, Hungary, crop forecast, Romania, EU, France