Sunflower is one of the most important oil seed crop in the world and specially in temperate countries. It is one of the main source of vegetable oil in the world. Vegetable oil is used in large extent in India and therefore sunflower has a major part in it.
India is one of the largest oilseed crop producers in the world. It holds an important part in Indian agricultural economy. Various states which are also large producers of Sunflower in india are Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharastra etc.
Top ten sunflower producing countries in the world are :-
| Area | Production (Int $1000) | Production (MT) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ukraine | 2,253,212 | 8,387,100 |
| 2 | Russian Federation | 2,052,333 | 7,992,714 |
| 3 | Argentina | 915,794 | 3,340,520 |
| 4 | China, mainland | 452,797 | 2,369,000 |
| 5 | Romania | 382,755 | 1,398,203 |
| 6 | Turkey | 371,630 | 1,370,000 |
| 7 | Hungary | 350,713 | 1,316,545 |
| 8 | Bulgaria | 320,416 | 1,387,780 |
| 9 | United Republic of Tanzania | 307,547 | 1,125,000 |
| 10 | France | 283,554 | 1,572,952 |