Turkey's Sunflower Seed Rush Tightens Black Sea Supply for UK Buyers
- Turkish buyers have contracted 400,000 tonnes of Black Sea sunflower seed for September to November delivery, over a fifth of the season's forecast import need.
- Crude sunflower oil shipments from Ukraine and Russia to Turkey had practically stopped by August 2026 after attacks on cargo vessels.
- Turkey plans to crush 3.2 million tonnes of sunflower seed domestically in 2026/27, up from 2.525 million tonnes the previous season.
Turkey is buying up Black Sea sunflower seed to replace lost crude oil, and UK buyers share the same suppliers.
Turkish buyers have already contracted 400,000 tonnes of sunflower seed from the Black Sea region for delivery between September and November 2026/27. That is more than a fifth of the country's entire forecast import need for the season, locked in before it has properly started.
According to Latifundist, citing a USDA Foreign Agricultural Service report, Turkey is expected to import 1.8 million tonnes of sunflower seed in 2026/27. The volume already under contract covers just the first three months of that total. Turkey's total seed imports in 2025/26 are estimated at 1.62 million tonnes, with 1.58 million tonnes landed between September and July. The pace of buying this season is already running ahead of last year's at a similar stage. Most of it is coming from Black Sea origins, and the reason sits further up the chain. Turkey normally buys crude sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia to refine and re-export, but those shipments had practically stopped by August 2026 after attacks on cargo vessels. With the usual crude oil no longer arriving, Turkish processors are importing more raw seed instead. They plan to crush 3.2 million tonnes domestically this season, against 2.525 million tonnes the year before.
That shift puts Turkey in direct competition for the same Black Sea seed that UK buyers of sunflower oil and sunflower meal already draw on. Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria supplied the bulk of Turkey's seed imports last season, with Romania alone providing 652,000 tonnes. Those are the same origins UK food manufacturers and animal nutrition buyers use for refined oil and meal. A buyer with a contract due for renewal this quarter should requote against current Black Sea seed availability rather than assume last season's terms still hold.
Businesses that get ahead of this will requalify alternative Black Sea or Danube origin suppliers before Turkish demand absorbs more of the available seed. Those waiting on existing contract terms may find the oil or meal they expected is already spoken for.