Bulgaria expects the oil refining industry to recover this year

Over the last few years, there has been a gradual renewal of the oilseed processing industry in Bulgaria. But in MY 2024/25, the oilseed crop performance was the lowest in the last ten years due to extremely hot and dry summer conditions. The total harvest of oilseeds, including sunflower, rapeseed and soybean, is estimated at 1.6 million tons, 2 million tons less than a year earlier. Rapeseed production was 175,000 tons, 15% less than last season. Sunflower harvest was down 15% to 1.5 million tons despite a higher planted area. Bulgaria has about 4 million tons of processing capacity, the reduced gross harvest has led to difficulties in the country’s processing industry. At the same time, Bulgarian agro-analysts expect a sharp increase in rapeseed production in the new season to 330,000 tons. This is due to an increase in area from 74 thousand to 110 thousand hectares and an increase in yields from 2.4 to 3 tons per hectare. As for sunflower, its production is projected to ...