Sunflower profitability in Russia's Rostov region falls to a 10-year low
Average sunflower profitability in Rostov region was 17.3% last year, the weakest in a decade, and industry figures expect margins to approach zero this season. Production costs above 22,000–25,000 rubles per tonne collide with bids that start at 30,000 rubles and fall to 19,000–20,000 in practice, as a record 22.2 million tonne national crop outruns crushing capacity.
Margins at a decade low
Average sunflower profitability in Russia's Rostov region came to 17.3% last year, the lowest reading in ten years, Anatoly Kolchik, director of the Grain Union of Agricultural Producers of Rostov Region, told Vedomosti Yug. According to expert estimates cited in the same report, this season may be considerably worse, with profitability approaching zero.
Prices explain most of the shift. In 2025 sunflower was purchased at up to 44,000–45,000 rubles per tonne, Kolchik said, and nothing comparable is visible this year even on a preliminary basis. “On trading platforms they start at 30,000 rubles per tonne, and in practice they can go down to 19,000–20,000 rubles,” he said. Yuri Kornyush, adviser to the president of the Rostov Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said sunflower prices across Russia have fallen by an average of 40% in a month and a half because of difficulties placing volumes.
Costs moving the other way
The real cost of producing a tonne of sunflower at most small and mid-size peasant farms passed 22,000–25,000 rubles this season, according to Kornyush, with increases across every line: fuel, fertilizers, crop protection chemicals, logistics and wages.
“For a farm to be able to cover losses on grains and build a cushion for spring sowing, the minimum purchase price at crushing plants should start from 38,000–40,000 rubles per tonne including VAT at a base oil content of 48%. Any price below 35,000 rubles is work on the edge of zero profitability,” Kornyush said. Kolchik also puts the floor at 35,000 rubles per tonne. “Simple cost recovery cannot satisfy producers. They have taxes, loans, leasing, wages and further reproduction. Sunflower is ceasing to be a financial lifeline,” he said.
Both point to high export duties on sunflower and its processed products as a significant factor in price formation. Producers are waiting for the substantial adjustments promised by Russia's Agriculture Ministry. Outside domestic crushing plants, growers have almost no alternative sales channels, Kolchik noted, so the price is dictated by processors.
Record crop against fixed capacity
Russia's sunflower harvest this year is expected at a record level of up to 22.2 million tonnes including the new regions. Planted area rose from 11.08 million to 12.2 million hectares, Kornyush said, a strategy that is now weighing on the market: there is more sunflower than the domestic market can absorb. Processing capacity is not keeping up with the surplus, and carryover stocks may exceed 5 million tonnes. Despite capacity additions, existing Russian plants can crush no more than 16 million tonnes of sunflower.
The Grain Union estimates that the Rostov region crop may exceed 2 million tonnes in 2026, almost double the previous year. Kolchik sees no material processing bottleneck locally: the capacity of two large crushing plants alone, Yug Rusi and Aston, is sufficient for the forecast volume, while elevators play a minor role, mainly for additional drying of seed. With logistics costs rising, he added, the crushing plants remain within accessible delivery distance.
Oil exports carry the margin
Data from the Rostov Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry show the region holds leading positions in Russia for output and exports of vegetable oils, sunflower oil in particular. Russian vegetable oil exports rose 6% year on year to 4.18 million tonnes in January–July 2026, according to analytical agency OleoScope. World prices are rising and already include a regional risk premium for Black Sea supply: indicative sunflower oil prices from Russian ports have reached $1,370–1,380 per tonne, and $1,470–1,475 per tonne on a CIF Mumbai basis for India, whereas in 2025 the $1,200 level was only reached by mid-autumn.
Exports are nonetheless constrained by geopolitical instability and persistent logistics risks, limited railway capacity for deliveries to the oil terminal at Taman, the main outlet for Russian sunflower oil exports, and an escalation in the Middle East that is priced into freight through a war premium, Kornyush said. The floating duty on sunflower oil adds further unpredictability to sales: in April 2026 it stood at 16,222.4 rubles per tonne against 9,687 rubles a month earlier.
