Global sunflowerseed production is set to reach 54.8M tonnes in the 2023/24 marketing year, according to latest estimates by the International Grains Council (IGC) reported by Germany’s Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants (UFOP).
This would be a rise of 8% or 4M tonnes from the current season, the 23 March report said.
The projected growth was based on anticipated yield increases, which were expected to return to near-average levels following heat-related disappointing results in 2022.
According to research by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft, yield increases were particularly expected in Europe with EU27 sunflowerseed output projected to increase by 1.1M tonnes compared to the previous year.
Against an uncertain backdrop of the ongoing Russia/Ukraine conflict, the IGC expected Ukrainian production to increase by 1.5M tonnes to 13.5M tonnes, with Russia expected to harvest 15.8M tonnes, an increase of 0.8M tonnes.
US sunflowerseed production was projected to be lower than in 2021, while China was not expected to see any significant changes in output.
The IGC said that the crop forecast was uncertain at the time of the report as sowing campaigns had not started in the major sunflowerseed producing countries. The projection for Ukraine was particularly difficult to make due to a significant part of the traditional production area being located in the regions affected by the ongoing conflict.
