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  • Why are sunflower seeds important in South Africa?
  • Sunflower seeds are also an important food source in South Africa – the seeds are pressed and crushed for their oil, which is primarily used as cooking oil in many local households. The extraction process of oil from seed results in sunflower meal, or sunflower oilcake, which is a valuable by-product in the feed industry.
  • What is sunflower used for in South Africa?
  • In South Africa sunflower is well adapted in both hot and dry climate. The seed can be consumed after the hull has been removed as a snack or used for production of different oils. Most of the seed produced is marketed locally to expressers, animal feed manufacturers and for seed.
  • Which companies crush sunflower seed in South Africa?
  • In South Africa, the main crushers of sunflower seed are Nola Industries, Epic and Epko. Pressing plants with relatively smaller crushing capacity in the country are Sealake Industries, Elangeni Oil & cake Mills and Capital Oil Mills.
  • Why is Gauteng a major exporter of sunflower oil?
  • Gauteng Province, in spite of not being a major producer of sunflower seed is an exporter of sunflower oil because of larger number of traders who are situated in the province as well as the availability of Randfontein Grain Market in the Province.
  • How much sunflower seed is produced in South Africa?
  • For the period between 2011 and 2020, an average of about 760.6 thousand tons sunflower seed were produced per annum while the gross value was approximated at 3.6 billion Rand per annum. The gross value of sunflower seed produced in South Africa has been relatively volatile for the past ten years.
  • How is sunflower oil produced?
  • The refining process produces sunflower oil which is used mostly for human consumption. Most of the large refineries are situated in Gauteng and Kwazulu Natal. The greatest importance of sunflower production is the extraction of oil from the seed.