Sunflower seed

The sunflower seed is the fruit of the sunflower and the seeds are pressed to extract oil and roasted, consumed as a snack. Sunflower seeds are very popular for both rich flavor and extensive nutrient.

Sunflower seeds are one of the most popular, healthy seeds which are produced on a large-scale in countries such as Ukraine, Russia, and the European Union. Ukraine and Russia remain the top sunflower seed producers in the world.

Ukraine produced 15 million metric tons of sunflower seed in 2018 and Russia is the second largest producer of sunflower seed in the world and they produced 12.71 million metric tons in 2018.

Other major sunflower seed producing countries include Argentina, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Spain, China, India, USA and Moldova.

Iraq, Egypt, Iran, South Africa, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Chile, Kazakhstan, Syrian, Algeria, Belarus, Bosnia, Mexico and Morocco are the major importers of sunflower seed.

The three common sunflower seeds in the world and the sunflower seed types are linoleic, high oleic and sunflower oil seeds. The two main industrial uses for sunflowers are to produce edible seeds and edible oil.

Sunflowers will mature and develop seeds within 80 to 120 days and could harvest sunflowers when their petals become dry and begin to fall. The green base of the head will turn yellow and eventually brown.

Sunflower seeds are used in applications in food products such as bakery products, bird-feed and others. They can also be added to salads, bars, breakfast bowls and desserts.