Romania’s sunflower lead highlights gap between seed exports and refined oil imports

Romania retains its European production lead

Romania harvested more than 1.8 million tonnes of sunflower seed in 2025, representing approximately 21% of total European Union production, according to European Commission data cited by Oficiul de Știri. The result kept Romania ahead of other major EU producers, including Hungary, Bulgaria and France.

The harvest remained below the level recorded in 2023, when production exceeded 2 million tonnes. Even so, Romania’s share of EU output confirms the country’s central role in the regional sunflower market and gives its farmers, traders and crushers access to a large domestic supply of raw material.

Seed exports rise as average prices fall

Romanian sunflower seed exports increased sharply in 2025. Oficiul de Știri, citing Eurostat, reported that export value rose from €181.5 million in 2023 to almost €422 million in 2025. The figure had fallen to approximately €100 million in 2024 before rebounding the following year.

Export volumes followed the same direction. Romania shipped approximately 244,000 tonnes in 2023 and more than 700,000 tonnes in 2025. The expansion came with weaker unit values: the average export price in 2025 was €0.60 per kilogram, or about 3 lei per kilogram, which was 20% below the 2024 average of €0.77. The corresponding price in 2023 was approximately €0.74 per kilogram.

The figures show that Romania generated more export revenue by moving substantially larger quantities of seed, despite receiving less for each kilogram. For growers and merchants, that combination increases exposure to crop volumes, logistics costs and movements in commodity prices. It also means a significant part of the harvest leaves the country before the crushing and refining stages, where additional value can be created.

Refined oil imports continue to expand

Imports of refined sunflower oil increased for a third cited year. Their value rose from more than €9 million in 2023 to approximately €20.4 million in 2024 and more than €27.4 million in 2025, according to Eurostat figures reported by Oficiul de Știri. Import volumes climbed from 7,205 tonnes to 17,540 tonnes and then to more than 21,000 tonnes over the same period.

The average price of imported refined oil reached €1.31 per kilogram in 2025, compared with €0.60 per kilogram for exported seed. The comparison does not represent a direct processing margin: producing oil requires more than one kilogram of seed, while refining, energy, packaging, transport and by-products affect the economics. A producer quoted by Oficiul de Știri said approximately 2.5 kilograms of sunflower seed were needed for one litre of oil and argued that oil production required very large volumes to become profitable. In his assessment, a facility would struggle to be viable below annual production of 100,000 tonnes.

Scale remains the central processing constraint

Romanian factories produced approximately 294,000 tonnes of refined sunflower oil in 2025, far more than the volume imported. The import increase therefore does not mean that Romania lacks an oil-processing industry. It points instead to a market in which domestic output, export demand for seeds and purchases of foreign refined oil operate simultaneously.

The producer cited by Oficiul de Știri said storage was not the problem and that Romania had enough sunflower seed to cover domestic oil requirements. He identified processing technology and insufficient capacity as the main constraints. For investors, the key issue is scale: abundant seed supply alone does not guarantee profitable crushing and refining. For farmers and traders, strong export channels offer immediate market access, while processors must secure enough throughput to spread their fixed costs and compete with imported finished oil.