# Sunflower

An oilseed of the Black Sea steppe; Russia and Ukraine grow more than half the world's sunflower seed.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sunflower/

Oilseeds & oils · No. 94

- Not on a critical list
- HHI 1,684 · moderately concentrated
 Oilseeds & oils · Foundation · Matter

Two countries at war grow over half the world's sunflower seed, so a closed Black Sea port reaches Indian kitchens.

Chart: Illustration: Sunflower

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Native to North America, the sunflower became a field crop in Russia. Its deep roots handle dry summers on the black-earth steppe. World output was 52.2 Mt in 2024.

##### Three things to know

1. Russia and Ukraine grew 53.9% of the world's sunflower seed in 2024, most of the growth coming after 2000.
2. Sunflower oil hit its ten-year high of $2,361/t after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine closed Black Sea ports.
3. In 1967 the USSR paid for Iranian gas partly in sunflower oil, pushing out US soybean oil.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Steppe**Grown on dry black-earth farmland
2. 2 **Harvest**Seed heads harvested and dried
3. 3 **Crushing**Crushed near the farm or port
4. 4 **Oil and meal**Crude oil plus fibrous meal
5. 5 **End uses**Cooking oil, margarine and livestock feed
 Covered in [How commodities moveCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/how-commodities-move/)

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sunflower/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sunflower/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sunflower/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sunflower/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sunflower/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sunflower/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sunflower/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sunflower/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sunflower/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sunflower/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sunflower/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sunflower/links/index.md)