The sunflower harvest ends in Vendée. Given the growing demand linked to the war in Ukraine, many producers had increased their sunflower acreage in the spring. This was without taking into account the drought which impacted the harvests. ” We have 15 days 3 weeks in advance and the quantity is below the usual average, 20-25% less harvest, with smaller seeds. Those who irrigated have more correct results” Explain Bertrand Mitard, administrator of the federation of oilseed and protein crop producers and vice-president of the FDSEA of Vendée. For next year, producers will decide at the start of the year, depending on the market and orders, how much sunflower they will sow.
– Yves-Rene Tapon
The GAEC The Ursule farm in Chantonnay produces exclusively organic sunflower and rapeseed oils. Mary Schwab one of the producers observes: “We often have quite small seeds, after that does not mean that there will be less oil, the sunflower is quite resistant to the sun and to the heat (…) Afterwards we would have had more rainfall we would have had more seeds and bigger seeds”. The conflict in Ukraine confirmed the GAEC in its desire to produce locally, but there was no question of seeing more than the 10 hectares of sunflower currently produced: ” The demand was strong, we felt tensions on the subject, after all the restaurateurs who were already taking oils from us were comforted because there was no problem of rupture“.
– Yves-Rene Tapon