Sunflowerseed production in the European Union (EU) is expected to be its third lowest volume in a decade in 2025, according to EU Commission (EC) estimates reported by Germany’s Union for the Promotion of Plants and Protein (UFOP).
EU sunflowerseed production in 2025 is expected to total just over 8.5M tonnes, a 3% increase on the previous year’s harvest.
Although yields were forecast to exceed the previous year levels, averaging 18.0 decitonnes/ha, they remained well below the long-term average of 20.1 decitonnes/ha, the 6 November report said.
With the EU’s sunflower planted area reduced by around 0.5% to just under 4.8M ha, the higher yield could partly offset the slight decline in area.
Romania remained one of the leading sunflower-producing countries in the EU-27, with production expected to reach 1.7M tonnes, a significant year-on-year increase from 1.5M tonnes, from a reduced production area of 1.2M ha. Yields were projected to slightly exceed the previous year’s levels but remain below average.
With a forecast harvest of nearly 1.8M tonnes, Hungary was set to retain first place among the EU’s major sunflower producers for the second consecutive year.
According to research by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (AMI), the sunflower planted area in Germany expanded again in 2025, after two years of decline. At 61,000ha, the area planted with sunflowers remained well above the level recorded prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Following the invasion, many German farmers had significantly expanded sunflower planted areas in 2022, the report said. In 2020, the total sunflower planted area totalled 28,000ha, but following the increase in area, Germany’s 2025 harvest was expected to total about 150,000 tonnes, representing a rise of around 16,000 tonnes compared to the previous year.
Sunflower crop development in France had been negatively affected by persistent drought conditions and heat waves, the report said.
The EC has projected the 2025 French harvest at almost 1.5M tonnes, a decline of 25,000 tonnes compared with the previous year. This would mean that, for the second consecutive year, the French harvest would remain below the long-term average of 1.8M tonnes, mainly due to a 9% reduction in planted area, the report said.
New FAO study shows how digital solutions are empowering farmers and fishers to prevent losses and build resilient agrifood systems
Rome – Disasters have inflicted an estimated $3.26 trillion in agricultural losses worldwide over the past 33 years – an average of $99 billion annually, roughly 4 percent of global agricultural GDP – according to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security 2025 highlights how digital technologies are transforming how farmers, governments and communities can monitor risks, anticipate impacts, and protect livelihoods.
The report provides the most comprehensive global assessment to date of how disasters – from droughts and floods to pests and marine heatwaves – are disrupting food production, livelihoods and nutrition. It also demonstrates how digital innovations are shifting agrifood systems from reactive crisis management to proactive data-driven resilience-building.
“Digital technologies are already revolutionizing how we monitor risks, deliver early warnings and support farmers’ decision-making. From the 9.1 million farmers now accessing parametric insurance through digital platforms to the communities using our early warning systems to evacuate 90 percent of at-risk populations before disasters strike, we are witnessing a fundamental shift from reactive response to proactive risk reduction.” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu in the foreword to the report.
According to Rabobank’s Agri Commodity Outlook 2026, the global agricultural landscape is entering a new phase where geopolitics, not traditional market forces, will dictate trade flows, prices, and production decisions.
According to Rabobank’s Agri Commodity Outlook 2026, the global agricultural landscape is entering a new phase where geopolitics, not traditional market forces, will dictate trade flows, prices, and production decisions. The report describes a world increasingly divided between two spheres of influence, the United States and China, where agricultural commodity exports have become “pawns on a geopolitical chessboard.” Trade wars are reshaping long-standing patterns of production and export by means of tariffs and subsidies, leading to a fragmented, policy-driven global food system.
“Agriculture is no longer playing by supply-and-demand rules; it’s playing by geopolitical ones,” said Carlos Mera, Head of Agri Commodity Markets Research at Rabobank. “We are only at the beginning of the middle game.”
From tariffs to subsidies
The initial trade conflict, sparked by tariffs, has evolved into a global subsidy race. Governments worldwide, including those of the US, Brazil, Indonesia, Argentina, and Russia, have intensified agricultural support programs through direct payments, minimum price guarantees, and biofuel mandates. This widespread protection has muted the reaction of farmers to low prices and will likely sustain high total planted areas, keeping global grain and oilseed prices subdued for 2026.
In the US, farmers had anticipated the geopolitical tension between the US and China (a dominant soybean buyer), and as a consequence, soybean plantings have fallen to their lowest level in six years, while corn area has expanded to its largest area since the 1930s. By the end of the 2025/26 season, this will result in visibly bulky US corn stocks that will depress volatility and keep prices low.
Food and drink manufacturers now have a new lipid to add to their formulation toolbox – one that boasts health and sustainability credentials
The global fractionated lecithin market is poised for substantial expansion over the next decade, reflecting evolving consumer preferences for natural, sustainable, and multifunctional ingredients. Valued at USD 2,927.2 million in 2025, the market is projected to reach USD 4,813.8 million by 2035, growing at a CAGR of 5.1% during the forecast period.
This robust growth trajectory is driven by increasing demand for clean-label products, advanced extraction technologies, and diverse applications across food, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmetic industries. Established global leaders and emerging innovators alike are strategically investing in advanced processing and tailored formulations to capture expanding market opportunities.
Market Overview: Rising Preference for Natural and Functional Ingredients
The worldwide shift toward natural and minimally processed products continues to accelerate. Consumers, increasingly aware of ingredient transparency, are gravitating toward products free from synthetic additives. Fractionated lecithin—derived from soybeans, sunflower seeds, and other plant sources—has become an ideal fit for this demand.
In the food sector, lecithin serves as a natural emulsifier and stabilizer, improving product texture while promoting clean-label positioning. Within the pharmaceutical industry, lecithin’s ability to enhance the absorption of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) makes it a critical component in modern drug delivery systems. Companies like Cargill supply high-purity lecithin tailored to meet pharmaceutical standards, reinforcing the ingredient’s clinical relevance.
The cosmetics and personal care segment is also expanding its use of fractionated lecithin. Owing to its moisturizing and skin-conditioning properties, lecithin improves formulation texture and product stability—qualities highly valued by premium skincare brands worldwide.
CPM Crown – a division of process equipment and technology supplier CPM Holdings – has developed alcohol-based solvent extraction technology for oilseed processors as an alternative to traditional hexane-based extraction.
CPM Crown said oilseed processors traditionally used hexane-based extraction to remove oil from oilseeds such as soyabeans, canola and sunflower to produce cooking oils, protein meals and ingredients as it was an efficient and cost-effective method.
However, there are health, food safety and environmental concerns due to its neurotoxic, volatile and flammable nature. In February this year, for example, the European Chemicals Agency proposed adding n-hexane to its Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) Candidate List due to its probable serious effects on human health.
CPM Crown said on 21 October that its new Monarc Clean Oilseed Processing product would enable companies to replace solvents in their extraction supply chains, offering processors clean label and organic products.
When used in oil processing, the technology could lead to lighter colour and lower gums content. and In protein concentrate processing, it could lead to a higher protein meal and protein content, lighter colour and a more neutral taste in protein concentrate, Crown added.
“Starting from our company’s foundation of … experience in solvent-based extraction technology – and specifically over 50 years in alcohol-based extraction – our experts spent over five years developing this … technology with … process simulation software, R&D resources and dozens of runs at our … innovation centre,” said Kris Knudson, president of Crown.
The company completed its first sale of a commercial scale facility using Monarc technology in 2025 to Spanish agribusiness Elian Barcelona, a subsidiary of the Viserion Group,
“Monarc is going to allow us to leverage ethanol to unlock new possibilities for product quality,” said Richard Petro, commercial director for Elian Barcelona.
Thanks to the support of FAO, the EU and international partners, a centre has been established in Ukraine to ensure the long-term security of Ukraine's plant genetic resources, according to the Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in Ukraine, with financial support from the European Union (EU) and in partnership with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the Global Crop Diversity Trust (Crop Trust) and the Nordic Genetic Resource Centre (NordGen), has officially opened the Ukraine Duplicate Centre for Plant Genetic Resources and transferred it to the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (NAAS).
It is noted that the opening of the Duplicate Centre was the second stage of a joint EU-FAO project launched in 2022 in response to the destruction of the National Gene Bank in Kharkiv. Following the urgent evacuation of 51,000 long-term storage samples to a temporary storage facility in western Ukraine, the new centre now provides permanent and secure storage for these collections and forms the basis of a modernised national plant genetic resources system. The modular complex includes laboratories, drying, refrigeration and freezer rooms, as well as office space for full-fledged scientific activities, ensuring the long-term and sustainable preservation of Ukraine's unique seed collection.
The implementation of this project also contributed to the adoption of the National Strategy for the Development of the Plant Genetic Resources System of Ukraine for 2024-2028 and the introduction of the international information platform GRIN-Global. This will strengthen data exchange, scientific cooperation and Ukraine's integration into global biodiversity conservation initiatives.
For a drone service provider (DSP) today, it’s clear that simply being able to fly a drone is no longer enough to separate oneself from the competition and build a business. The best DSPs know whatever industries they elect to serve, taking into account the people they’ll be working for, what their day-to-day needs are, and how to communicate the value drones can bring to their work. In looking at industries to break into, agriculture sits in a fascinating place within the ecosystem, as a vital industry for the global economy and society at large, one with plenty of financial might, and also a traditional industry that can be, at times, a bit resistant to new technology.
To be clear, agriculture has already been utilizing drones to varying degrees for years now. However, given the sheer size of the industry and how many individual farms and owners can benefit from the technology, there is still a large market share available to those looking to get into this space.
Generally speaking, there are two main uses for drones in agriculture. One involves more direct aerial applications, largely around spraying, whether it be for irrigation, fertilizing, or spraying pesticides. Alongside that application, there is also a data collection side to drone utilization in agriculture, for mapping and monitoring crops.
Recently, Commercial UAV News spoke with FlyGuys’ Jerimiah Contreras about the latter piece of the UAVs in agriculture puzzle. He talked about how he got his personal start in commercial UAV pilot experience within the agriculture space, how mapping plays into this industry, and how others can try to break into this field.
For FlyGuys’ part, Contreras reiterated throughout the conversation that they strictly work in this mapping segment of agricultural work, as spraying applications require different training, equipment, and general knowledge. Instead, they actually work as something of a third party with software companies that...