Ukraine could increase sunflower seed exports fivefold at start of new season

Ukraine’s new-crop sunflower seed exports are picking up: traders contracted around 30 thsd tons in just one week for delivery to Turkey and Bulgaria. Exports could reach around 200 thsd tons in September-November, compared with only 39 thsd tons shipped abroad during the first ten months of the current season, Sunstone Brokers co-founder and partner Serhiy Repetskyi told Latifundist.com.

According to him, sunflower seed for delivery to Turkey is being contracted at $655–660/t CIF Marmara, while prices for Bulgaria are around $575/t delivered Varna.

Turkey is currently actively buying sunflower seed. In August alone, the country purchased around 150 thsd tons from various origins.

Repetskyi estimates that under current conditions, Ukraine could export around 200 thsd tons of new-crop sunflower seed in September-November. Of this volume, Turkey could purchase around 120 thsd tons, while Bulgaria and Romania could take another 80 thsd tons. After November, exports could virtually come to a halt, he said.

For comparison, according to the Ukroliyaprom association, Ukraine exported only 39 thsd tons of sunflower seed in September-June 2025/26. At the same time, around 9.66 mln tons were processed domestically.

Thus, potential shipments of 200 thsd tons in just the first three months of the new season could be more than five times higher than exports in September-June of the current marketing year.

USDA also forecasts a significant increase in Ukrainian sunflower seed exports in the new season. According to its forecast, Ukraine could export 100 thsd tons in 2026/27, compared with 40 thsd tons in 2025/26, representing a 2.5-fold increase.

At the same time, maritime logistics remain the main constraint on exports.

“Selling the commodity is the easy part; executing the contract and finding logistics is the real challenge,” Repetskyi said.

According to him, relatively new coaster vessels are already leaving the Black Sea region for Northern European ports. Shipowners do not expect war-related risks at Black Sea ports to ease in the near term and are redirecting their fleets to safer routes.

Repetskyi expects the Black Sea to be served mainly by older vessels with low residual value. At the same time, elevated risks allow such vessels to earn higher freight rates.

Tags: Ukraine, export, sunseed