Romania ranks as EU leader in sunflower seed production in 2025

In Romania, plant-based agricultural output increased across all major crops in 2025, driven mainly by higher yields and expanded cultivated areas, according to preliminary data from the National Institute of Statistics.

Sown areas increased for oilseeds, cereals, vegetables, and potatoes, while only dried pulses saw a decline. At the same time, production rose across all categories, including grains, oilseeds, vegetables, and potatoes.

At the European Union level, Romania ranked first in both area and production of sunflower seed, and also led in maize area while placing third in maize production.

The total cereal area rose by 0.7% to 5.1 million hectares, while production jumped by 37.2% to 24.5 million tonnes, mainly due to improved yields. Wheat covered 2.31 million hectares (45.3% of the cereal area), while maize accounted for 1.97 million hectares (38.6%).

Wheat production increased by 36.6% to 12.69 million tonnes, representing over half of total cereal output. Meanwhile, dried pulse production nearly doubled (+93.7%) to 244,000 tonnes, supported by higher yields.

The oilseed sector also recorded strong growth, with total production up 60.9% to 4.81 million tonnes and area expanding by 11% to 2.13 million hectares. Rapeseed output more than doubled to 2.5 million tonnes, sunflower seed production rose by 36.5% to 2.06 million tonnes, while soybean production declined by 15.4% to 253,000 tonnes.

Among other crops, vegetable production increased by 20.8% to 2.53 million tonnes, potatoes by 10% to 1.16 million tonnes, and grapes by 14.4% to 809,000 tonnes. In contrast, orchard fruit production fell by 12.9% to 612,000 tonnes due to lower yields.