Sivas sunflower area nearly doubles to 190,000 decares in 2026

Plantings rise by about 94%

Farmers in Turkey’s Sivas province have almost doubled the area planted with sunflower, expanding it from 98,000 decares in 2025 to 190,000 decares in 2026. Dünya calculated the annual increase at approximately 94%. The change is notable in a province traditionally associated with grain production, where sunflower had not previously been grown on a broad commercial scale.

The expansion followed sharp increases in sunflower oil prices during the pandemic and calls by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Agriculture Ministry for farmers to increase production. Hacı Çetindağ, chairman of the Sivas Chamber of Agriculture, said local growers responded by introducing sunflower as an alternative crop intended to support the national economy and reduce dependence on external supplies.

Confectionery sunflower drives the expansion

The largest increase came from confectionery sunflower. Its planted area rose from 23,000 decares in 2025 to 90,000 decares in 2026, nearly quadrupling within one season. Oilseed sunflower recorded a more moderate expansion, from 75,000 to 100,000 decares. Confectionery varieties therefore accounted for 67,000 of the total 92,000 additional decares planted in the province.

Dünya reported that favorable conditions could produce 16,000 tonnes of oilseed sunflower and 19,000 tonnes of confectionery sunflower, taking the combined harvest to 35,000 tonnes. The oilseed forecast compares with approximately 11,900 tonnes harvested from 75,000 decares in 2025. Confectionery output was reported at 4,800 tonnes last year.

There is, however, a discrepancy in the confectionery forecast. The main reports cite an expected harvest of 19,000 tonnes, while Çetindağ was quoted by Haberler.com and TimeTürk as saying the current estimate was approximately 16,000 tonnes. Either figure would represent a substantial increase from 2025, but the difference leaves the province’s final combined production dependent on field results and clarification of the forecast.

Weather and seed support shape the outlook

Excessive rainfall disrupted planting and prevented the area from expanding as far as farmers had planned, according to Çetindağ. He said that under normal seasonal conditions, confectionery planting could have reached 150,000 decares and oilseed sunflower approximately 200,000 decares. Some source passages refer to tonnes when describing these potential planting levels, but the context indicates that the figures concern area rather than output.

Public seed support also contributed to the increase. The provincial Agriculture and Forestry Directorate distributed approximately 3,900 kilograms of oilseed sunflower seed in the previous year. Çetindağ said the program had delivered significant benefits and that continued distribution next year could support a further rise in the harvest.

For Turkey’s edible-oil chain, the most relevant development is the increase in oilseed area from 75,000 to 100,000 decares and the projected rise in output to 16,000 tonnes. Sivas alone cannot resolve national sunflower oil supply pressure, and the sources provide no national production or import figures. Nevertheless, the province shows how seed assistance and crop diversification can add domestic oilseed capacity, while the faster growth of confectionery sunflower indicates that farmers are also responding to opportunities outside the crushing market.