Sunflower harvest down: Farmers face reduced yields this year
Sunflower producers in Moldova are anticipating a smaller harvest this year. They estimate that they will gather up to 1.2 tons of sunflower seeds. Similarly, agro meteorologists forecast the same volume.
Specifically, the average yield nationwide is expected to reach up to 1.4 tons per hectare, compared to an average of nearly two tons over the past decade.
In the agricultural fields of the village of Șolcani in the Soroca district, approximately one hundred hectares of sunflowers have been sown. Farmers have commenced harvesting a few weeks earlier due to favourable weather conditions. Machine operators are striving to collect the yield in a timely manner to avoid being caught by rain.
"For about 17 years, I have been involved in harvesting, and this year is particularly challenging. The sunflower heads are quite small. They appeared very promising, but during harvesting, there is very little left. I am uncertain about how much we will gather,” said one farmer.
“Compared to previous years, the yield is very poor. However, despite all the difficulties, we are making every effort to harvest and store the crop in barns, to cover our expenses.”
Producers report that while last year’s harvest averaged over three and a half tons of seeds per hectare, this year’s yield is considerably more modest.
“Due to the excessive heat, the heads dried out very quickly and became very compact. Even the combine harvester is struggling to separate the seeds from the heads. This is not the only issue; the remaining heads will persist until next year, leading to potential problems with volunteer sunflowers growing in other crops,” explained Constantin Andriuță, an agricultural producer.
The producer noted that the current price for a kilogram of sunflower seeds is approximately eight lei. He added that while he previously exported the product across the Prut River, he has not yet decided how to manage this year’s yield.
“The price is currently 7.80 lei per kilogram. We have been contacted by other partners with whom we have previously worked on seed sales, but we are not rushing to sell. We are waiting to see how this year’s needs develop and hope for an improvement,” said the producer.
According to statistical data, nearly 685,000 tons of sunflower seeds were harvested last year.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
