Sunseed prices in Ukraine remain high due to delayed harvest, but their further increase will limit the fall in sunflower oil prices

Rainfall in western and northern Ukraine is again delaying the sunflower harvest, which, amid increasing demand from processors, is supporting sunseed prices.

Processors sold sunflower oil at high prices, so they are ready to offer better prices for sunseed with fast delivery. So farmers should take advantage of the new price jump and accelerate sales.

Demand prices for sunseed in Ukraine remain at the level of 26,500-27,500 UAH/t or 565-585 $/t excluding VAT (for 50% oil content) with delivery to the factory, but it should be noted that processors can buy rapeseed and soybeans, the prices for which, after the introduction of export duties, decreased by 1,000-1,500 UAH/t to the levels of 22,500-23,000 UAH/t and 16,500-16,800 UAH/t, respectively, with delivery to the factory.

In Ukraine, as of September 12, only 570.3 thousand hectares of sunseed were threshed, of which 885.3 thousand tons were harvested with a yield of 1.55 tons/hectare, but the yield in the center and west will be higher than last year.

It should also be noted that demand prices for oil in Ukraine decreased by $10-20/t to $1,170-1,190/t with delivery to Black Sea ports during the week, against the backdrop of increased supply and a drop in prices for Russian oil to $1,180-1,190/t FOB.

Prices for sunflower oil from Kazakhstan also fell to $1,130-1,150/t at the border with China on forecasts of an increased sunflower seeds harvest.

In Russia, 14% of sunflower areas have been threshed, and the average yield is 1.23 t/ha, which is 28% lower than a year ago due to drought in the southwestern region. However, yields in the center and east of the Russian Federation are higher, so overall sunseed production will increase.