Together with supplies to Romania, the total volume of imports to the region may reach about half a million tons, which will significantly affect the balance of oilseed raw materials in the Black Sea region.
According to market operators, the first ship with 40 thousand tons of Argentine sunflower is off the coast of Morocco and should arrive at the Bulgarian port early next month. A total of ten ships with Argentine sunflower are expected to arrive in Bulgarian ports by the end of February – beginning of March.
Against the background of Bulgaria’s domestic sunflower production of about 1.5 million tons, import volumes will account for about a quarter of the national crop. This makes external supplies the most important factor for price formation and competitive situation on the market.
According to traders’ estimates, Argentine sunflower is in most cases cheaper than domestic production, which makes it attractive for Bulgarian companies and processors.
An additional factor for imports was limited domestic supplies – local farmers are holding back sales, expecting prices to rise after weak harvests in Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine, ukragroconsult.com wrote.
Earlier, Logos Press reported that the sunflower market in the Black Sea countries in the first half of February 2026 reached the “peak of demand/price”, and the “window of opportunity” to benefit from the active realization of expensive stocks of this product may close in the coming weeks.
Bulgaria has been regularly among the top 3 largest buyers of Moldovan sunflower for several seasons.
