Sunseed prices in Ukraine are supported by rising oil prices and uncertainty about the new harvest

Expectations for a decrease in oil and vegetable oil prices have not yet materialized; on the contrary, demand for vegetable oils has increased slightly, which has provided a new wave of support for sunflower prices in Ukraine.

Purchase prices for sunseed remained at high levels last week at 26,500–26,800 UAH/t or $555–565/t excluding VAT with delivery to the factory, and some processors offered farmers even higher prices for large volumes.

Export prices for sunflower oil in Ukraine increased by $10-20/t to $1,110-1,120/t with delivery to Black Sea ports over the week, as demand prices from EU buyers increased to $1,200-1,220/t DAP against the backdrop of the strengthening of the euro.

It is worth considering that prices for sunflower oil delivered to India remain at $1,195-1,200/t CIF Mumbai, as importers are increasing purchases of much cheaper palm oil, which has increased in price by 4.6% to $979/t in a week.

Demand prices for sunflower meal remain at $220-225/t delivered to the port and are supported by the active growth in prices for feed wheat and barley, which increased by $4-6/t over the week to $200-204/t delivered to the port.

An additional factor putting pressure on sunseed prices is unfavorable weather conditions in southeastern Ukraine, where drought has already destroyed some crops and significantly damaged others. If there is no active precipitation there in the coming days, the forecast for sunflower production in Ukraine in the new season will be significantly adjusted.

In Russia, the weather is more favorable for sunflower crops, and given the increase in the area sown this season by 10% to 11.5 million hectares, the harvest forecast has also been increased from 17 million tons to 18-19 million tons.

The market is awaiting the results of the rapeseed harvest in Ukraine and the EU, which will affect vegetable oil prices in the coming weeks, as rapeseed oil significantly restrains the growth of sunflower oil prices in the EU.

Tags: Ukraine, sunflower oil, prices, sunseed