Sunflower oil is an excellent export product, and in the 90s this industry financed the entire production together with the sugar mills.

The sunflower harvest in Serbia is at the very end, and the first forecasts say that due to the drought, the harvest will be 10 to 15 percent lower than the ten-year average, says Dr. Vladimir Miklić, head of the Sunflower Department at the Institute of Agriculture and Vegetables in Novi Sad. Miklić states that the advance purchase price of sunflower of 37 dinars is lower than previous years, but that the areas under this crop will continue to grow because sunflower is far more resistant to climate changes than other agricultural crops, writes Poslvni hr.

He also emphasizes the importance of a strong domestic oil industry and says it could process three times as many sunflowers.

"Sunflower is one of the most important items of Serbian agricultural exports because, unlike other agricultural crops, it is exported in a processed form, as oil. Although the yields are lower, the buyout price will not be higher. Only farmers who have yields greater than three and a half tons per hectare will earn money," says Miklić for RTS.

According to him, it depends on how much someone has invested, because investments in sunflower are increasing. According to him, the drought has taken its toll throughout Europe, which is the largest producer of sunflowers. It is possible, Miklić concludes, that there is a shortage of oil on the world market, primarily due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which are also the largest producers, but he adds that there are no such fears for Serbia.