Once upon a time, a leafy plant with a thick, fleshy root flourished around Europe’s Mediterranean coasts. Called
Beta maritima, it was the ancestor of today's sugar beet—which now produces almost half of the refined sucrose used by consumers and industry.
Olives have been cultivated in Europe for at least 7,000 years—for their oil and their fruit. In fact, Spain, Greece, Turkey, and Italy produce the majority of the world’s olive crop and the EU has a whole produces around 67% of the world’s olive oil.
More than 80 countries grow sunflowers as a crop. By 2026, global consumption of sunflower oil is projected to reach 12 million metric tons.
European farmers have a new challenge: The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), which states that no more than 65% of your annual consumption of a strategic raw materials, including borates, can come from a single third country.