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Negative forecasts about the harvest of oil crops in the Balkans turned out to be true. In the 2024/25 season, Bulgaria harvested the lowest yield of oil crops in the past ten years due to an extremely hot and dry summer, which affected the crop yields. This information was reported by World Grain citing a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The total harvest of oil crops, including sunflower, rapeseed, and soybeans, is estimated at 1.6 million tons, which is 2 million tons less than the previous year. Rapeseed production is estimated at 175 thousand tons, 15% lower than the previous season. The sunflower harvest decreased by 15% to 1.5 million tons, despite an increase in the planted area.
According to FAS USDA data, as a result of the expansion of processing capacities for sunflower and rapeseed in recent years, the local processing industry has faced serious problems. Bulgaria will need to import a large amount of oilseeds at a time when the European Union and other suppliers are experiencing a shortage. By now, the country has imported only 270.5 thousand tons of sunflower and rapeseed.
“The ability of the Bulgarian oilseed processing industry to continue producing and exporting competitive processed products (meal and oil) will be under threat due to rising raw material prices and low prices for processed products, leading to very low or even negative margins,” FAS said.
It appears that processing capacities will remain underutilized for the third consecutive year.
"The US Department continues to insist on lifting trade restrictions in the region, while farmers continue to pressure authorities to impose restrictions on further raw material imports," the FAS report said.
