Sunflower seed and meal map: ports and hubs
GrainsMap lists 54 ports and hubs that handle sunflower seed and meal, in 18 countries across Europe, the Black Sea, South America, and the Middle East and Africa. Grades covered: Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic), Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%), and Sunflower Meal (28% Iberian).
ExportImportCrushing / transitInland river
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By region
- Europe (33)
- The Black Sea (18)
Grades
- Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) (16.0% - 18.0% (Oil 44-48%)) - Black Sea and Danube oilseed powerhouse. Essential for high-smoke-point edible oil and birdseed.
- Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) (36.0% - 38.0%) - High-protein sunflower extraction meal, the principal Black Sea protein co-product. Higher fibre and lower lysine than soymeal, priced at a discount and used widely in ruminant and layer rations.
- Sunflower Meal (28% Iberian) (27.0% - 29.0%) - Partially dehulled sunflower extraction meal at 28% protein, the standard Iberian feed grade. Higher fibre and cheaper than the 37% hi-pro material traded out of Rotterdam and the Black Sea, and used heavily in Spanish and Portuguese ruminant rations.
Ports and hubs (54)
| Hub | Country | Type | Grades handled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gran Rosario (Up-River) Rosario Gran Rosario on the Parana River: the largest oilseed-crushing complex in the world and the loading point for most of Argentina's grain and soymeal exports. Prices here are Argentina's official FOB reference prices, which the government sets daily for export duties - a national figure, not a Rosario spot price. The open-data series used here ends in January 2025. | Argentina | River port Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic), Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Necochea-Quequen Quequen Deep-water port at Necochea-Quequen, exporting wheat and barley from south-eastern Buenos Aires province. | Argentina | Seaport Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Port of Antwerp (ABT) Antwerp Major European transshipment and fertilizer node. Connects French wheat and Benelux malting barley with deep-sea and Rhine trade lanes. | Belgium | Seaport Crushing / transshipment | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Ghent (North Sea Port) Ghent Biofuel and compound feed powerhouse. Euro-Silo’s Grootdok and Sifferdok complexes hold around 650,000 MT, among the largest in Europe. | Belgium | Seaport Crushing / transshipment | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Burgas Burgas Bulgaria's southern Black Sea port. Prices here are European Commission farm-gate quotations for the Burgas district; the Commission's Burgas FOB series ended in 2022. | Bulgaria | Seaport Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Port of Ruse (Danube) Ruse Bulgaria's main Danube river port, loading barges down to the Black Sea and up the Rhine-Main-Danube corridor. Prices are European Commission farm-gate quotations for the Ruse district. | Bulgaria | River port Inland river | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Port of Varna Varna Bulgaria's principal Black Sea grain port. Prices here are European Commission farm-gate quotations for the Varna district: the Commission discontinued its Varna FOB series in 2023, and a three-year-old port price is not shown as current. | Bulgaria | Seaport Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Port of Aarhus Aarhus Denmark’s largest port, handling around 11 million tonnes a year including cereals, forage and fertiliser for the Jutland livestock sector. | Denmark | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Brest (Bretagne) Brest Brittany feed import terminal serving Europe’s densest poultry and swine cluster. Raw materials arrive by coaster and leave by road to the compounders. | France | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of La Pallice (La Rochelle) La Rochelle Deep-water Atlantic export hub for the Poitou-Charentes and central French grain belt. Sica Atlantique loads Panamax parcels for Iberia, North Africa and the Mediterranean without the Seine tidal constraints of Rouen. | France | Seaport Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Port of Marseille-Fos Fos-sur-Mer France’s Mediterranean agribulk and crush gateway. Durum for southern semolina mills and oilseeds for the Fos crushers, with rail to the Rhone corridor. | France | Seaport Crushing / transshipment | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Toulouse Cereal Hub (Occitanie) Toulouse South-western origination on the Garonne. Durum for the Mediterranean semolina trade and irrigated maize, railed to Bordeaux, Sete and Fos. | France | Inland hub Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Hannover Feed Hub (Lower Saxony) Hannover Distribution point for the Lower Saxony compound feed industry, railed from Brake and Hamburg into Europe’s densest pig and poultry region. | Germany | Inland hub Crushing / transshipment | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Brake an der Weser Brake Lower Saxony’s leading feedstuffs import port. J. MUELLER’s agri terminal supplies the North German livestock belt with meal and feed grains. | Germany | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Bologna Grain Exchange Hub Bologna Emilia-Romagna trading crossroads. The Bologna exchange quotes the Italian durum and soft wheat reference that the national milling industry trades against. | Italy | Inland hub Crushing / transshipment | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Cremona Po Valley Feed Hub Cremona Po river port at the centre of Italy’s dairy and pig belt. Imported meal and local maize converge here for the Lombardy and Emilia compounders. | Italy | River port Crushing / transshipment | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Bari (Puglia) Bari Adriatic durum import gate for the Puglian semolina and pasta industry, topping up the Tavoliere harvest with Black Sea and Canadian amber durum. | Italy | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Chioggia (Venice Lagoon) Chioggia Northern Adriatic agribulk terminal feeding the Veneto and Lombardy feed mills, with barge and road links into the Po plain. | Italy | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Ravenna (Docks Cereali) Ravenna Italy's primary agribulk gateway on the Adriatic Sea. Houses Docks Cereali, feeding the colossal feed and pasta mills across Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, and Veneto. | Italy | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Giurgiulesti (Danube) Giurgiulesti Moldova's only port, on the Danube where it meets the Romanian and Ukrainian borders, loading grain for export. | Moldova | River port Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Port of Amsterdam Amsterdam The North Sea Canal agribulk cluster, second only to Rotterdam in Dutch grain and cocoa handling, with barge distribution across the Randstad. | Netherlands | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Rotterdam (Europoort & Botlek) Rotterdam Europe's supreme maritime gateway. Ultra-deep berths accept Capesize bulkers directly from South and North America, feeding massive Bunge and ADM crush plants and Rhine river barges into Germany. | Netherlands | Seaport Crushing / transshipment | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Vlissingen-Terneuzen (Zeeland) Vlissingen Deep-water Scheldt terminals handling oilseeds and meal for the Zeeland crushers, with direct barge access to Ghent and Antwerp. | Netherlands | Seaport Crushing / transshipment | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Zwolle-Meppel Inland Hub Zwolle IJssel-Vecht inland terminals supplying the Overijssel and Gelderland feed compounders, fed by barge from Amsterdam and Rotterdam. | Netherlands | Inland hub Crushing / transshipment | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Oslo Oslo Norway’s main feed-grain import gate. A short growing season leaves the country structurally short, and Felleskjopet supplies the inland mills. | Norway | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Stavanger Stavanger South-western Norwegian feed terminal serving the Rogaland livestock cluster, the densest agricultural region in the country. | Norway | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Aveiro (Gafanha da Nazaré) Aveiro Portugal’s central-coast agribulk port on the Ria de Aveiro, supplying the dense Beira Litoral feed compounders and poultry integrators between Porto and Coimbra. | Portugal | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Leixões (Porto) Matosinhos / Porto Northern Portugal's prime agribulk port serving the dense dairy, swine, and poultry feed manufacturers of Entre Douro e Minho. | Portugal | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Lisbon (Trafaria & Beato) Lisbon Portugal's strategic grain import gateway on the Tagus estuary. Houses the monumental Trafaria silo terminal, capable of discharging Panamax and Capesize bulkers to feed national flour mills and feed compounders. | Portugal | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Setúbal Setúbal Sado River port catering to Alentejo agro-industrial processors, animal feed compounding, and grain warehousing. | Portugal | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Constanta (Comvex & Chimpex) Constanta Black Sea mega-hub and transshipment powerhouse. Confluence of the Danube-Black Sea canal, loading Capesize and Panamax bulkers with Romanian, Ukrainian, Serbian, and Hungarian crops. | Romania | Seaport Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic), Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Galati (Danube) Galati Romania's largest Danube port and a barge-to-ship transshipment point for grain moving down to the Black Sea. | Romania | River port Inland river | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Krasnodar (Kuban) Krasnodar Capital of Krasnodar Krai, Russia's second wheat region with about 12% of the crop, and a large maize and sunflower producer. Its grain moves by rail to Novorossiysk, Taman and Kavkaz. | Russia | Inland hub Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Port of Azov Azov Russian port at the mouth of the Don on the Sea of Azov, handling grain in shallow-draft coasters. | Russia | River port Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Port of Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don Russian river port on the Don, loading shallow-draft vessels out across the Sea of Azov. | Russia | River port Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Saratov (Volga) Saratov Volga region of winter wheat, durum and sunflower, part of the south-western belt that grows over half of Russia's wheat. | Russia | Inland hub Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Stavropol Stavropol Centre of Stavropol Krai, one of Russia's three largest wheat regions, shipping by rail to Novorossiysk and the Caspian. | Russia | Inland hub Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Volgograd (Lower Volga) Volgograd Lower Volga river port at the head of the Volga-Don canal, linking the Volga wheat lands to both the Azov and Caspian export routes. | Russia | River port Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Voronezh (Central Black Earth) Voronezh Centre of the black-earth belt south of Moscow, growing wheat, sugar beet, sunflower and maize; grain goes south by rail to the Azov and Black Sea ports. | Russia | Inland hub Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Bothaville (Maize Triangle, Free State) Bothaville In the middle of South Africa's Maize Triangle and home of the NAMPO farm show. Senwes runs several grain silos in and around the town, handling white and yellow maize, soybeans and sunflower seed. | South Africa | Inland hub Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic) |
| Port of Barcelona (Bunge & Cargill) Barcelona Catalonia's premier agribulk import and soybean crushing nexus. Directly supplies the immense livestock, poultry, and porcine belt of Catalonia and Aragon. | Spain | Seaport Crushing / transshipment | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Bilbao (Santurtzi) Bilbao / Santurtzi Deep-water Cantabrian gateway feeding the Basque Country and the upper Ebro. The outer harbour takes Panamax bulkers year-round, and grain moves inland by rail to the Ebro valley compounders. | Spain | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Santander (Raos) Santander Spain’s principal cereal import gate for the Castilla y León livestock belt. The Raos bulk terminals discharge straight to rail and road for the climb onto the northern meseta. | Spain | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Seville (Guadalquivir Silos) Seville Andalusia's inland river port on the Guadalquivir, famed as the epicenter for Mediterranean Durum Wheat and premium sunflower seeds. | Spain | River port Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic), Sunflower Meal (28% Iberian) |
| Port of Tarragona Tarragona Spain's largest volume agribulk import port (>5M tonnes/year). Direct pipeline into the Ebro valley feed industry. | Spain | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Zaragoza Inland Grain Hub (PLAZA) Zaragoza The Ebro valley multimodal grain crossroads. Rail-fed from Tarragona and Bilbao, it supplies one of Europe’s densest pig and poultry clusters across Aragón and inland Catalonia. | Spain | Inland hub Crushing / transshipment | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Malmo (Copenhagen Malmo Port) Malmo Oresund agribulk terminal serving the Skane milling and feed industry, the most productive arable region in Sweden. | Sweden | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Izmail (Danube) Izmail Ukrainian Danube port that became a principal grain export route when the Black Sea ports were blockaded in 2022. | Ukraine | River port Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic), Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Ukrainian port on the Southern Bug, historically one of the largest grain export hubs in the country; its operations have been heavily disrupted since 2022. | Ukraine | River port Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic), Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Odesa & Chornomorsk Odesa Historic Ukrainian deep-water grain gateway handling high-capacity export flows into the Mediterranean and worldwide. | Ukraine | Seaport Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic), Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Pivdennyi Pivdennyi Deep-water Ukrainian port east of Odesa, one of the three ports of the Greater Odesa grain export corridor. | Ukraine | Seaport Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic), Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Reni (Danube) Reni Ukrainian Danube port which, with Izmail, carried much of Ukraine's grain exports while the Black Sea ports were blockaded in 2022. | Ukraine | River port Export | Sunflower Seed (High Oleic / Linoleic), Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Belfast Belfast The major animal feed raw material import hub for the Irish livestock sector, with W&R Barnett operating silos above 150,000 MT. | United Kingdom | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |
| Port of Tilbury Grain Terminal Tilbury The UK’s largest and most established grain terminal. 136,000 t of silo capacity and over 1.4 Mt a year, with marine towers running to 8,000 t a day. | United Kingdom | Seaport Import | Sunflower Meal (Hi-Pro 37%) |