Purchase prices for sunseed in Ukraine remain stable, despite the decline in demand for sunflower oil

In Ukraine, prices and demand for sunseed from processors remained stable during the week. Precipitation and high rates of sunflower sowing in Ukraine and the Russian Federation will soon lead to an increase in sowing areas and harvest forecasts, which will reduce the demand prices for sunflower oil from the new crop.

For sunflower seeds with an oil content of 50%, processors offer UAH 26,500-27,000/t with delivery to the factory, but there is no competition among buyers, as farmers have increased the number of offers, and the processing margin remains low.

Export demand prices for Ukrainian sunflower oil with delivery to Black Sea ports decreased to $1,120-1,125/t against the backdrop of a drop in prices for Russian oil by $20-30/t.

Falling oil prices have put pressure on palm oil prices, which will reduce demand for sunflower oil. But India’s military aggression against Pakistan could further reduce demand for sunflower oil in favor of much cheaper palm oil.

As of May 2, 47% of the planned area or 2.365 million hectares was sown with sunflower in Ukraine (2.9675 million hectares in 2024 and 1.485 million hectares in 2023 on the same date).

Good rainfall and moderate temperatures this week will help complete sowing and get seedlings established, and improve harvest prospects after dry conditions in March and April.

According to analysts, the volume of sunseed processing by Ukrainian plants in April increased by 7% compared to March due to a seasonal increase in sunseed offers from farmers and a slight increase in demand for oil.

In 2024/25, the EU reduced sunflower oil imports by 22% to 1.92 million tons compared to the same period of the previous season, and exports by 31% to 466 thousand tons, which indicates a decline in global demand for sunflower oil. Sunflower oil supplies from Ukraine to the EU decreased compared to the previous season from 2.32 to 1.824 million tons.