by PressStrategie Grains expects a high sunflower harvest in the EU
The sunflower harvest in Europe will be a record
Strategie Grains experts presented their forecast of oilseeds production for the European Union. According to the report, the sunflower harvest in the current season will reach a record of almost 11 million dollars. This figure will exceed the previous marketing year by 5%.
The forecast was raised due to an increase in planted acreage for the crop by almost 5 million hectares. Now the area under sunflowers is 9% more than it was last season.
Experts expect that the increase in oilseeds production will allow the growth of sunflower oil production. European countries experience a deficit of the latter and an increase in its cost as a result of the geopolitical conflict that has disrupted the supply of the product.
Compared to the last marketing year, rapeseed production in the European Union will increase by about 18 million tons. Despite the low rainfall, experts believe that the harvest will be rich and of good quality.
The European market faced limited supplies of sunflower oil due to the inability to get supplies from a key exporter. In addition, the market has been rather weak since the pandemic, and new problems have caused even more damage. As a result, the cost of oil has increased significantly, and a number of supermarkets have decided to impose restrictions on the number of purchased goods.
At the same time, local producers are trying to increase production volumes, but this is not enough to stabilize prices. The limited amount of oil and its cost led to an increase in demand for substitutes, and they also began to rise in price. Whereas 20 liters of oil used to cost £22 in the UK, the price is now as high as £42.5.
Experts report negligible stocks of the product and suggest that buyers look for alternatives. Therefore, a number of British enterprises have already switched to rapeseed oil, which was mainly used for biofuels. Many producers have had to change product formulations to replace sunflower oil with other types, such as soybean oil.
To minimize the damage, the U.S. is increasing soybean cultivation, but the country’s food system is already experiencing a shortage of sunflower oil supplies. A significant reduction in imports of palm oil from Indonesia also aggravates the situation.
Other states are also suffering because of the discontinuation of one of the largest exporters of sunflower oil. For example, one of the big supermarket chains in Norway is considering selling palm oil, which was banned in the country due to its unsustainability.
At the same time, European producers are doing their best to compensate for the lack of products, and the favorable forecast of the expected harvest is encouraging. In addition, the geopolitical conflict may end soon and supplies will be restored.