Ivelin Brachev - Let's grow your business together.

In this article you will find the official data for the last 8 crops of sunflower seeds in Bulgaria. Those of you who deal with sunflower seeds most probably know that last season brought record high volumes both of black (oil) sunflower seeds and striped sunflower seeds. The total quantity that was produced in 2010 was more than 1.5 million metric tons (incl. more than 117 thousand metric tons of striped sunflower seeds).

On graph 1 you can clearly see the steady growth of the produced sunflower seeds during the last 8 years. The only exception is the disastrous crop 2007 when the weather conditions were not favorable for the producers. You can notice also that the lowest production volume of the striped sunflower seeds was reached in 2008 and not in 2007. This was a result of the considerable reduction of the planted areas (see graph 2) that was caused from the disappointment of the producers from this agricultural product during the fall of 2007.

Graph 1: Produced volumes of sunflower seeds (2003 – 2010)

The last 2 seasons practically doubled and even tripled the production of striped sunflower seeds in Bulgaria. This is a direct result from the rapidly growing bird feeding market and from the growing interest towards low oil content varieties for human consumption. Although some reduction is expected during the coming season, it is quite obvious that the striped sunflower seeds are gaining popularity in Bulgaria and this trend will definitely continue during the coming years.

Yields in metric tons	Crop 2003	Crop 2004	Crop 2005	Crop 2006	Crop 2007	Crop 2008	Crop 2009	Crop 2010
Oil sunflower seeds:	760906	1025727	904114	1156555	543633	1285529	1224242	1388482
Striped sunflower seeds:	27857	53105	30741	40015	20814	15182	93737	117643

Source: Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture; Bulletin “Yields by Agricultural Products”

As far as the planted areas are concerned, they are kept more or less at the same level – the average figure for the last 8 years is about 655 thousand ha. Thus, it is quite clear that the excellent results achieved from crop 2010 are coming from the better yields from 1 ha due primarily to the favorable weather conditions. Combined with the higher price levels, the higher volumes contributed to the excellent return on investment for the Bulgarian producers and exporters.

Graph 2: Planted areas with sunflower seeds (2003 – 2010)

It is worth to notice that the percentage of the areas planted with striped sunflowers compared to the total sunflower areas is normally about 5-6%, however during the last 2 seasons this percentage grew to 7.6% during 2009 and even to 9.2% during 2010.

Planted areas in ha	Crop 2003	Crop 2004	Crop 2005	Crop 2006	Crop 2007	Crop 2008	Crop 2009	Crop 2010
Oil sunflower seeds:	638016	559363	619389	755222	659844	711731	634756	659867
Striped sunflower seeds:	36868	38839	33983	28638	26848	12231	52453	66856

Source: Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture; Bulletin “Yields by Agricultural Products”

Graph 3 clarifies the difference between the yields of the black (oil) and striped sunflower seeds. Normally the latter are at least 20% less and this difference is compensated by the higher prices of the striped sunflower seeds. If the price difference is reduced, the producers lose interest and prefer to grow black (oil) seeds. This is a clear trend for the coming season 2011 too.

Graph 3: Average yields of sunflower seeds (2003 – 2010)

Average yields kg/ha	Crop 2003	Crop 2004	Crop 2005	Crop 2006	Crop 2007	Crop 2008	Crop 2009	Crop 2010
Oil sunflower seeds:	1220	1850	1500	1601	940	1811	1939	2142
Striped sunflower seeds:	800	1390	970	1431	853	1241	1791	1762

Source: Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture; Bulletin “Yields by Agricultural Products”

Now the big question is what will happen in 2011? Shall we have again higher yields to compensate the reduction of the planted areas or not? Or can we expect another disastrous year like 2007?