Sunflower: Characteristics
High-linoleic or high-oleic: two oils from one flower
What this tab covers The supply and physical characteristics of the commodity. Supply: current production, inventories and stocks, capacity utilisation, geographic and producer concentration, how fast supply responds to price, the project pipeline and capital spending, and logistics and export flows. Material: the physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and end uses (for example purity and conductivity for metals, API gravity, sulfur and energy content for fuels, moisture, protein and fibre quality for crops).Supply volume characteristics
| Characteristic | Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current production volume | about 52.2 Mt of seed (FAOSTAT 2024); 55.4 Mt in 2025/26 and 63.6 Mt forecast for 2026/27 | Russia and Ukraine grow over half; the EU, Argentina and Kazakhstan follow. Most seed is crushed where it is grown. | FAOSTAT 2024; USDA PSD |
| Inventory and stock levels | seed ending stocks 4.5 Mt forecast for 2026/27, 7.3% of use, about 27 days; oil stocks 2.39 Mt (2025/26) | Stocks are thin and sit with Black Sea crushers. India holds about 0.4 Mt of sunflower oil stocks (2025/26), rising to 0.6 Mt in 2026/27 (USDA), with no strategic reserve. | USDA PSD |
| Capacity utilisation | not published | Black Sea crushing capacity exceeds the crop: Russia and Ukraine use export duties on seed to keep crushers running. About 91% of seed is crushed (USDA 2025/26). | USDA PSD; content of this tile |
| Geographic and producer concentration | top country Russia 32.9%, top-3 (Russia, Ukraine, Argentina) 61.4%, HHI 1,684 (2024); oil exports: Ukraine 38.6%, top-3 55.1% of value | Kernel Holding, EFKO, Yug Rusi, Bunge, Cargill and LDC dominate Black Sea crushing and export. India is the largest importer (22.3% of oil import value). | FAOSTAT 2024; UN Comtrade 2024 |
| Supply elasticity | short-run moderate: annual spring crop; drought and war move supply more than price | Farmers switch between sunflower, wheat and maize each spring. Ukraine's output depends on access to ports and fields affected by the war. | USDA; industry practice |
| Project pipeline and CapEx | world output forecast up 15% to 63.6 Mt in 2026/27 after a weak 2025/26 | Russia (21 Mt) and Ukraine (13 Mt) are forecast to recover. No named crushing projects are in the sources used. | USDA PSD 2026/27 |
| Logistics and export flows | traded mainly as oil: Russia 4.2 Mt and Ukraine 4.0 Mt of oil exported in 2025/26, about 40% of world sunflower oil | Routes: Novorossiysk, Odesa and Chornomorsk through the Bosphorus to Turkey, the EU, India (Kandla, Mundra, Chennai, Kakinada) and China. Chokepoints: war risk in the Black Sea and the Turkish Straits. Meal (22.3 Mt) moves to EU, Chinese and Turkish feed mills. | USDA PSD; UN Comtrade 2024 |
Material characteristics Agricultural / soft commodity
Oil-type sunflower seed is crushed for a light, liquid oil and a fibrous meal. Oil content sets value. The fatty acid profile divides the market: conventional high-linoleic oil for cooking, and high-oleic oil that resists heat for frying and food makers. Meal protein depends on how much hull is removed.
| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oil content | about 40-50% of seed (black oil types); about 42% oil yield on world crush | Sets crush margin | USDA PSD derived (indicative) |
| Linoleic acid (conventional oil) | 48.3-74.0% of fatty acids | Liquid oil for cooking; less stable at high heat | Codex Standard 210-1999 |
| Oleic acid (high-oleic oil) | 75-90.7% of fatty acids | Stable frying oil that earns a premium | Codex Standard 210-1999 |
| Moisture | about 8-9% maximum in trade | High-oil seed spoils fast when damp | trade contracts (indicative) |
| Free fatty acids in crude oil | typically at most 1-2% in trade contracts | Higher FFA raises refining loss | FOSFA-type contracts (indicative) |
| Meal protein | about 28-37% depending on dehulling | Feed buyers pay by protein and fibre | trade specs (indicative) |