France: Up to 15% of sunflower seeds unharvested in most affected areas

Published 2024년 12월 18일

Tridge summary

In 2024, French sunflower producers faced significant challenges due to adverse weather conditions, including late sowing and high rainfall, which resulted in delayed maturity and extended harvest periods. Up to 10-15% of the cultivated areas remained unharvested, primarily in the western, Burgundy, and Central France regions, leading to a lower national average yield of 20 q/ha, compared to the five-year average of 23.1 q/ha. Despite these technical difficulties, the increased selling price of sunflower seeds and the crop's economic profitability in early harvest areas offset the increased drying costs for late harvests. Sunflowers were shown to be a resilient crop under varying weather conditions, with benefits for soil structure and water use efficiency in rotations, making them a valuable crop in the context of climate change.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

"Unable to bring in plots, unripe crops and seeds that were too wet, or plots that were dumped due to bad weather: a significant portion of the sunflower areas could not be harvested in 2024. This is a historic fact for the crop," notes Terres Inovia in its campaign report. "French sunflower producers have, in fact, faced very difficult or even exceptional sowing and harvesting conditions due to the weather conditions throughout the campaign. After often late sowing, the high rainfall and the relative coolness in late summer and early autumn not only slowed down the crop's reaching maturity but also constrained the harvests, spread over more than three months. » According to the technical institute, "unharvested areas range from a few plots in the southern sectors to 10 to 15% of the area in the most affected sectors (West, Burgundy and Central France)." By integrating these areas, the national average yield for 2024 is estimated at 20 q/ha, lower than the five-year average (23.1 ...

Source: TerreNet