Sunflower planting area and yield forecast for 2025
In 2022, the national sunflower planting area was nearly 6 million mu, which was the lowest in the past 10 years. In 2023, the national sunflower planting area increased rapidly, reaching more than 9 million mu, an increase of 50% over 2022. In 2024, the national sunflower area continued to increase, reaching about 11 million mu. However, due to continuous rainfall in autumn in Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Hebei in 2024, farmers suffered serious disasters. This year, farmers' enthusiasm for continuing to plant sunflowers has declined. In 2025, according to the current national sunflower seed sales and farmers' planting willingness survey, the national sunflower planting area is predicted to be about 8.8 million mu in 2025.
Among them, Inner Mongolia is the largest area for edible sunflower planting in the country. It is predicted that the edible sunflower planting area in Inner Mongolia in 2025 will be about 6.2 million mu, and the planting area of Bayannur, its core area, is predicted to be 4 million mu. As the second largest sunflower planting area in the country, Xinjiang is predicted to have 1.5 million mu of sunflower planting area in 2025. The edible sunflower in northern Xinjiang is still concentrated in Altay, Tacheng, Bole and other areas. Due to the successful re-planting of edible sunflower after wheat in 2024 in southern Xinjiang, the farmers have made considerable profits. In 2025, it is expected that the re-planting of edible sunflower after wheat in southern Xinjiang, mainly in Aksu and Hotan, will increase significantly, and is predicted to be between 300,000 and 500,000 mu. The sunflower planting area in Gansu is predicted to be around 400,000 mu in 2025, mainly in Jiuquan and Minqin. The sunflower planting area in Shanxi is mainly in Zuoyun County and Youyu County. The edible sunflower planting area in 2025 will be significantly reduced compared with 2024, and is predicted to be around 400,000 mu. Affected by the disaster in 2024, the enthusiasm of large-scale growers in Hebei has declined, and the predicted area is about 200,000 mu. The planting area in the three northeastern provinces of Jilin, Heilongjiang and Liaoning is predicted to be around 100,000 mu. In summary, the national edible sunflower planting area is predicted to be around 8.8 million mu in 2025.
Second production forecastUnder normal climatic conditions in 2025, it is estimated that the national edible sunflower can produce about 1.8 million tons of finished raw materials, of which the domestic demand for roasted seeds and nuts processing is predicted to be around 1.3 million tons, and the foreign export is expected to require about 480,000 tons of raw materials. The market supply and demand relationship, the raw materials can basically achieve supply and demand balance. According to the export data of China Customs in recent years, my country's sunflower seed exports have shown an increasing trend year by year, of which the export volume of Sunflower Seeds in 2021 is 427,000 tons, the export volume of sunflower seeds in 2022 is 444,000 tons, the export volume of sunflower seeds in 2023 is 462,000 tons, and the export volume of sunflower seeds in 2024 is 479,600 tons. In 2025, we predict that the export volume of sunflower seeds will remain at around480,000 tons.
