Volume of sunflower oil exports from Moldova fell sharply

Sunflower oil exports from Moldova in 2024 fell below 1% of the total volume of supplies abroad. To understand the extent of the decline, it is enough to say that in 2022, foreign sales of this product accounted for 8% of the structure of physical exports of goods from the Republic, and in 2023, the share of this product decreased, but not so noticeably – to 6%.

In December last year, the country still slightly increased the export of sunflower oil. In the structure of physical exports of agri-food products from the Republic, the share of vegetable oil increased to 2.9%. However, over the year, the figure was less than 20 thousand tons of this product. Whereas in previous years, the export of sunflower oil was an order of magnitude higher – more than 200 thousand tons.

The decrease in exports is reportedly due to a decrease in the gross harvest of oilseeds. Last year, the country harvested, according to expert estimates, about 500-550 thousand tons of products from 480 thousand hectares of sunflower. Some operators in the oilseed market believe that this is a pessimistic estimate. An optimistic estimate is up to 600 thousand tons.

In 2024, Moldovan farmers significantly increased their sales of sunseed to export traders compared to domestic processors. According to expert estimates, more than 360 thousand tons of sunseed from the 2024 harvest were exported from Moldova, and another 25 thousand tons were contracted. About 65-70 thousand tons of new crop seeds were processed domestically, and processors can purchase another 100-120 thousand tons before the new season. Sunseed exports from the Republic of Moldova in the current season, as it became known earlier, show a significant increase compared to 221 thousand tons last season and 154.5 thousand tons in the 2022/23 season.

The general director of the oil and fat plant Floarea Soarelui SA, Stella Ostrovetskа, assures that the remaining sunseed is enough to meet domestic needs for sunflower oil until mid-autumn, which is about 15-18 thousand tons. However, up to 50% of packaged sunflower oil on Moldovan shelves is an imported product, and local processors also import raw materials for processing.

In the short term, as analysts note, it is difficult to predict an increase in the production of sunflower oil for export from Moldova, most likely, the previous trend will continue – a significant part of the remainder will remain on the domestic market.

Tags: prices, sunseed, Moldova, Ukraine, sunflower oil, export