Argentina shifts exports from sunflower products to soybeans

Argentina increased exports of soybeans and soybean products in April as the country began actively processing its new soybean crop, while exports of sunflower seed and sunflower products fell to multi-month lows.

Compared to March, Argentina’s exports of sunflower seed declined by 47% from 323,000 tonnes to 171,000 tonnes. Bulgaria accounted for 44% of shipments, followed by Spain with 20% and Türkiye with 19%. Exports of sunflower oil fell by 23% to 161,000 tonnes, with India remaining the main destination, receiving 63% of total volumes. Meanwhile, exports of sunflower meal dropped by 27% to a four-month low of 160,000 tonnes, with most shipments destined for European countries, including the Netherlands, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

At the same time, Argentina’s exports of soybean meal increased by 17% month-on-month to 2.37 million tonnes, while soybean oil exports rose by 12% to 563,000 tonnes, reflecting the seasonal ramp-up in soybean crushing following the harvest.

However, the decline in sunflower complex exports may prove temporary, as the country still has significant sunflower crushing potential for the remainder of the 2025/26 marketing year. Analysts at Oil World forecast that Argentina will process another 3.14 million tonnes of sunflower seed between March and August, up 15% from the same period a year earlier.

Argentina continues to maintain a strong position in the global sunflower oil and sunflower meal markets during the seasonal supply gap from the Black Sea region. This strengthens competition in key destination markets such as India for vegetable oils and the European Union for protein meals, where Argentine and Ukrainian products compete directly.

Tags: soybean oil, soybean, sunseed, soybean meal, sunflower meal, Argentina, sunflower oil