Sunflower Seeds Bulgaria
With the exception of minimal rainfall today in some parts of the country, the next few days will be mostly dry. No rain is forecast for the rest of the week, which will definitely benefit the maize and sunflower harvests that have started. Temperatures will be in the normal range for this time of year.
In terms of trading activity, the first week of September seems to be much quieter after a strong August. Little activity at the ports in Bulgaria.
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In its latest monthly report, the French consultancy Strategie Grains has further revised downwards its forecasts for this year’s cultivation of rapeseed, sunflower, and soybeans in the European Union.
Strategie Grains estimates the production of rapeseed, the most important oilseed in the EU, at 18.9 million tonnes. This is 0.4 million tonnes less than the previous month’s forecast of 19.3 million tonnes and 2.7% less than the 19.4 million tonnes a year ago. Rapeseed production in France, Germany and Romania was particularly disappointing, a report by the France-based consultancy said.
For sunflowers, the agency lowered its forecast for this year’s crop by 0.2 million tonnes from 10.5 million tonnes to 10.3 million tonnes. Despite the decline, production is still about 10% above the 2022 level.
For soybeans, which like sunflowers are harvested after summer, the consultancy lowered its production forecast slightly from 2.87 million tonnes to 2.84 million tonnes, but is still about 14% above last year’s level. Dry conditions in Romania are responsible for the worsening outlook for sunflower in the EU and, together with the drought in France, also contribute to the poorer outlook for soybeans. It should be recalled that Strategie Grains had already downgraded the crop forecasts for oilseeds in the EU a month ago.
Sunflower import forecasts from Ukraine were revised downwards due to less competitive prices and the assumption that the ban on Ukrainian shipments to five eastern EU countries will be extended until the end of 2023.