Russian farmers are increasing the area under oilseeds and their share in other crops.
Currently, the share of oilseeds in the overall structure of Russian crop rotation is about 22%, this is data for 2024.
At the same time, there is every opportunity for this share to be increased. Analysts are already making forecasts, according to which this year the share of oilseeds may increase to 23.5%.
At the same time, the structure of oilseeds itself may change.
Currently, sunflower makes up 12.2% of it, but its share may decrease to 12%. But the share of soybeans will increase from 5.3% to 5.5%, the share of rapeseed — from 3.5% to 3.6%.
Overall, Russia is expected to harvest up to 18.5 million tons of sunflower this year. This is much higher than the previous harvest, which amounted to 14.9 million tons.
It is noteworthy that the area under this crop will not only not be increased, but even reduced from 9.8 million hectares to 9.6 million hectares.
The increase in harvest may be associated with an increase in productivity. First of all, it can be counted on if farmers do not have to deal with adverse weather conditions, such as drought, so often in the new season.
As for the gross soybean harvest, experts also maintain positive expectations.
It is planned that if last year the soybean harvest was 6.7 million tons, then this year it will grow to 7.7 million tons. Soybean crops may increase slightly, but the main calculation here is also made on increasing the yield.
As for rapeseed, it can be said that the area under it will most likely also be increased from 2.8 million tons to 3 million tons.
One of the most important indicators that farmers focus on when deciding which crop to focus on is, of course, profitability.
In oilseeds, it is generally higher than that of most other crops, which explains the gradual increase in their share in the overall structure of Russian crop rotation.
If we compare different oilseed crops, sunflower has the highest profitability at about 60%.
The profitability of soybeans is significantly lower and amounts to about 35%, the profitability of rapeseed is even lower — 30%.
For this reason, we can expect that the share of sunflower, despite the decline observed today, will grow over time.
In addition, agricultural producers today expect an increase in prices for most oilseed crops, as well as grains.
If world prices recover, this will contribute to high profits and further development of oilseed production in the Russian Federation.
