Bulgaria occupies Ukrainian edible oil markets

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, Bulgaria began to import Ukrainian sunseed, increase oil production and supply its goods to traditional Ukrainian markets.

Yuliya Garkavenko, the leading analyst of the Ukragroconsult company, told about this at the EURO GRAIN HUB Exchange & Forum 2023 in Bucharest.

“Bulgaria has loaded all its processing capacities with Ukrainian sunflower. And they are now showing incredible figures for the export of oil and meal. How to return our sales markets — this will be the main problem after the war,” said Yulia Garkavenko.

According to the expert, it is primarily about the EU market, where Bulgaria can export products without problems.

“I am very surprised that the Romanians did not take advantage of this situation. It should be noted that if the processing industry is developing in Bulgaria, the capacities for sunflower and rapeseed processing are constantly increasing, and new plants for the production of oil and biofuels are appearing, then the situation is a little different in Romania. There are no new large processing plants there, and in general Romanians are very slow to make decisions. But the longer the war lasts, the more likely it is that Romania will also start changes in the processing industry,” says Yulia Garkavenko.

However, she emphasizes that even with the most negative forecasts, Ukraine still remains the leader in the world trade in sunflower oil, but the country’s share will decrease significantly.

EURO GRAIN HUB Exchange & Forum is a new regional platform to address the key agri market developments and deliver effective discussions and networking for all involved in the agricultural sector – from farmers, traders, input suppliers, animal and feed industry and stretching to logistics, storage, innovations, etc.

Tags: Romania, rapeseed, EURO GRAIN HUB Exchange & Forum, Ukraine, sunflower oil, Bulgaria, sunflower, UkrAgroConsult