What’s bad for corn is good for sunflowers

“In recent years, the weather in our country has become extreme, with hot days without precipitation becoming more frequent. And if there is enough precipitation, its distribution is not ideal. Thanks to this, the position of the sunflower has strengthened in recent years, as its deep-rooted roots can reach for water and nutrients deeper down, thus ensuring more stable profitability. The sunflower has become a significant crop in our country, which has undergone changes in terms of its production technology, as it was initially grown as an extensive crop, while today it is grown as an intensive crop.

– explained Tamás Tóth, Seed Marketing Manager for Syngenta’s Danube Region.

750 thousand hectares of sowing area is also not ruled out

The sowing area of ​​sunflowers ranged between 550 and 650 thousand hectares between 2010 and 2020, but in the past 5 years it has already reached 700 twice thousand hectares. According to Syngenta market information, this year the sunflower sowing area could reach up to 750 thousand hectares, which is a significant increase compared to last year. Demand has jumped mainly for high-oleic sunflower hybrids.

According to the Sunflower Market Report, the sunflower area is expected to grow by 30% worldwide by 2030. The world market is led by Russia with 17.5 million tons and Ukraine with 12.2 million tons. A total of 8.5 million tons were harvested in the European Union in 2024. In terms of sunflower sowing area, our country usually ranks third or fourth in the European Union behind Romania and Bulgaria.