• Although Romania is among the largest sunflower producers in the world, the oil produced locally is obtained from seeds from outside the European Union.
Many consumers have noticed that many commercial sunflower oil labels carry the tricolor flag with national pride. But on second look, the origin of the seeds processed to obtain the oil is stated to be EU and non-EU.
This paradox was pointed out by an investigation carried out by BBC, who emphasized the fact that the seeds produced in Romania take the route of export.
Data provided by INS shows that Romania is the largest sunflower producer in the European Union and one of the largest in the world. But the local production for the year 2022 was not processed locally, being replaced by cheap raw materials imported from Ukraine. Consequently, according to public data, the profits of the major oil producers in Romania have doubled or even tripled.
Big figures for imports
The amount imported by Romania from Ukraine was 2 million tons of cereals and oilseeds, worth about 1,76 billion euros. Only the imports of sunflower seeds were 360.000 tons, worth 217 million euros, according to INS data. For comparison, in 2021, Romania imported 240.000 tons of sunflowers in total. In 2022, imports amounted to 650.000 tons and a value of 510 million euros.
Caesar Gheorghe, an expert analyst in the grain market, referring to the large imports of sunflower seeds from Ukraine by Romanian processors, declares for Ziarul Financiar: "We see a very nice harvest of sunflower seeds for this year, somewhere around 2,8-3,1 million tons. It is normal, because there was an increase in the amount of crop damage due to corn, by 100-150.000 hectares. But the only thing that matters is that the sunflower seeds find their way to the Romanian processing units and to the Market European Union. "
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă
Read on White Art and: Romania ranks second in Europe in the export of cereals
