Turkey sunflower self-sufficiency drops to 35 percent

Agricultural engineer Celil Çalış has issued a warning regarding Turkey’s sunflower production and food security. While planting areas previously grew from 550,000 to 900,000 hectares, recent data indicates a contraction.

Çalış reports that planting areas for 2025 are expected to fall to 690,000 hectares, with a projected rise to 875,000 hectares in 2026. Despite these fluctuations, the self-sufficiency rate for sunflower production has reportedly dropped from 59 percent to 35 percent.

Çalış emphasized that 2027 represents a critical threshold for Turkey’s agricultural supply security. He noted that disruptions in the production chain could increase food inflation and that high import dependency poses a risk to economic sovereignty.