The drought reduces the Spanish sunflower harvest and its resurgence in Ukraine

Sunflower Seed

Spain

Ukraine

Published Aug 10, 2022

Tridge summary

The Spanish countryside is facing one of the worst sunflower harvests in recent years due to drought and heat, with poor expectations and low yields that dampen the resurgence of the crop in the face of the crisis in Ukraine. Representatives of the Asaja, COAG agricultural organizations and UPA have declared to Efeagro that the forecasts are very pessimistic for the sunflower campaign, which began weeks ago in Andalusia and will gradually spread throughout the country.

Original content

In relation to 2021, the production figures will not drop as much because the Cultivation area has increased considerably, but the yields per hectare have. Compared to a normal or average year, the person in charge of arable crops in Asaja, Pedro Gallardo, has stressed that the harvests will be 40% lower and that in some farms the yields they will drop by 50%, from 2,000 kilos/hectare to 1,050 kilos/hectare or less. The outlook is "disastrous", according to the person in charge of arable crops at COAG, José Roale s"It's a shame, the planting area increased by 30%, especially at the beginning of the crisis due to the war in Ukraine, and farmers are very pessimistic now," said UPA technician David Erice. According to Asaja , the harvest will be around 800,000 tons and will not satisfy all the national demand for sunflower seeds, since Spain needs 1.3 or 1.4 million tons both to manufacture oil and for the consumption of cake for animal feed. The area dedicated to sunflowers exceeds ...

Source: Agrodiario