Romanian farmers begin early harvest of sunflower crop due to drought

Some farmers in Romania have started harvesting the sunflower crop three weeks earlier than planned as crops dry out in the fields due to drought.

A lack of rain and scorching temperatures have forced farmers to begin harvesting earlier compared with previous years, a farmer said. Romania has been among the top sunflower seed exporters in the world.

Heat waves in July with temperature exceeding 40 C have destroyed significant volumes of corn and sunflower crops in Romania.

In Dolj County, about 65% of the sunflower crop has been affected with many fields now entirely barren, according to market analysts and domestic farmers. Some farmers' crops were completely burnt.

Out of the 1.3 million hectares of sunflowers planted, about 700,000 hectares have been affected by drought to varying degrees, said World Farmers' Organization President Arnold Puech d'Alissac.

In some areas, farmers are expecting yield losses of up to 90%.

"If in a good year, let's say, we made somewhere between 2.5 metric tons and 3 metric tons a hectare, this year we hope to reach 1 t/ha," a Oltenia-based farmer said. "Although from what we see here, we will certainly not reach that [target]."

In response to the widespread crop damage, the Romanian government has announced several supportive measures for farmers, including a compensation ranging from Euro 200/ha to Euro 250/ha for damaged crops.

The total estimated funds for this drought compensation program are expected to be between Euro 500 million and Euro 600 million, according to some local media reports.

Agriculture minister Florin Barbu has also requested the European Commission to grant urgent compensation to Romanian farmers.

The National Meteorological Administration has warned that the drought in Romania is expected to persist, with no significant rainfall on the horizon.

Romania's sunflower production in marketing year 2024-25 (July-June) could reach 2.41 million metric tons on 1.29 million ha land, according to the US Department of Agriculture.