Bulgaria: Oilseeds and Products Market Update

In marketing year (MY) 2024/25, Bulgaria harvested its smallest oilseed crop in 15 years due to hot and dry summer weather negatively impacting yields. Based on the final official harvest data, the Bulgarian sunflower crop fell to only 1.45 million metric tons (MMT), the smallest crop since 2013 while the rapeseed crop decreased to 175,000 MT, the lowest level since 2008. Despite the small crop, rapeseed crushing is estimated to reach a new record this marketing year, leading to rising imports. The sunflower crush has been pressured by a local and regional deficit for sunflower seeds and weak crushing margins. As a result, leading sunflower crushers have been forced to switch from sunflower to rapeseed crushing, a new trend for the local industry. This change is projected to impact domestic consumption of oilseed meals, with declining use of sunflower meal replaced by imported soybean meal and/or local rapeseed meal.