EU sunflower crop forecast at 9.6 million tonnes as Spanish pistachio and grape harvests improve

EU sunflower production heads for a three-year high

The European Union is forecast to produce 9.6 million tonnes of sunflower seed in 2026, according to figures cited by Renovables Verdes. That would be about 1.2 million tonnes more than in the previous season and the bloc’s largest crop in three years. The expected recovery combines higher yields with an estimated 5% expansion in planted area.

Romania, France and Bulgaria are expected to make the largest contributions to the increase. Romania would remain the EU’s biggest producer, with output close to 2.1 million tonnes, up around 18% from the previous campaign. Its sunflower area is projected at approximately 1.2 million hectares, alongside an improvement in average yields.

France is expected to move into second place with about 1.9 million tonnes, nearly 33% more than a year earlier. Hungary, Bulgaria, Spain and Greece are also forecast to record appreciable gains. Germany’s crop could reach a national record of around 175,000 tonnes, an increase of 32,000 tonnes, as its planted area rises from roughly 62,000 to 77,000 hectares.

The larger crop should increase the availability of sunflower seed for EU crushers and reinforce domestic supplies of vegetable oil and protein meal. Sunflower is also becoming a more established element of crop rotations, particularly on farms seeking an alternative to winter cereals and a way to spread weather and income risks.

Andalusia records its largest recent pistachio crop

Andalusia harvested almost 700 tonnes of pistachios in the latest campaign, its highest volume in recent history. Prices were also the strongest in five years: organic pistachios reached around €8 per kilogram, while conventional product traded at approximately €7.39 per kilogram, according to Appistaco, the national association of pistachio producers and marketers.

Appistaco, based in Navas de San Juan in Jaén, manages more than 1,400 hectares and has around 250 members. Most are farmers operating small plots of two or three hectares and using pistachios to supplement income from olive groves. Production extends beyond Jaén and other parts of Andalusia into Castilla-La Mancha, Murcia and Extremadura.

Further output growth is expected as younger orchards mature. Pistachio trees normally require about six years after planting to deliver their first substantial crop. For the next harvest, repeated summer heatwaves are bringing picking forward: farms in the El Condado area of Jaén are preparing to begin several weeks earlier than the customary start in the second half of September.

Canary Islands expect a better grape harvest

Wine-grape producers in the Canary Islands expect a harvest that is not exceptional but is materially better than those of recent years, when drought and extreme heat sharply reduced crops. A wetter and cooler winter supported vigorous budding and helped the vines recover part of the stress accumulated during previous campaigns.

The weather also limited fungal pressure on vines and grapes. This contrasts with earlier seasons, when diseases including downy mildew caused substantial losses in appellations such as Islas Canarias and Tacoronte-Acentejo. The three crop developments nevertheless underline the continuing influence of heat and changing rainfall patterns: they are lifting some yields and encouraging diversification while also advancing harvest calendars and keeping regional results uneven.