Ukraine set a record for oilseed processing in MY 2023/24

Ukraine’s fat-and-oil industry achieved record results in the 2023/24 marketing year. The companies managed not only to maintain the level of production but also to exceed it. This is reported by the association Ukroliyaprom.

In 2023/24 MY, the total processing volume of the main types of oilseeds reached a record 17.4 mln tonnes. In particular, the company processed 14.8 mln tonnes of sunflower, 1.0 mln tonnes of rapeseed and 1.6 mln tonnes of soybeans.

The increase in sunseed processing volumes was possible due to a significant decrease in exports – by 83.4% or 1.5 mln tonnes compared to the previous period.

In 2023/24 MY, the production volumes of sunflower oil reached 6.6 mln tonnes, and exports – 6.2 mln tonnes. This is the second best result in the history of the industry, which is only slightly lower than the records of MY 2019/20 (6.9 mln tonnes and 6.7 mln tonnes respectively). The production and export of sunflower oil increased by 13.7% and 17% compared to the pre-war MY 2020/21.

According to the report, for the first time in history, Ukraine processed 1 mln tons of rapeseed, which is 22.3% of the total 2023 harvest. This result is 0.8 mln tons more than in previous years.

Rapeseed, which is traditionally considered an export-oriented raw material, was partially retained for processing in Ukraine this year. Rapeseed oil production reached a record high of 430 thousand tons. Exports of rapeseed oil also increased to a record 424 thsd tonnes, up 404% compared to MY 2022/23.

There was also a significant increase in the production of soybean oil and meal. In MY 2023/24, the production of soybean oil increased by 22%, and meal – by 29%. Soybean processing reached 1.6 mln tons, which indicates a steady growth trend.

In the next marketing year, experts predict a slight decline in sunflower seed production to 12-12.5 mln tonnes, due to a decrease in the planted area by 2-3%. However, the production of soybeans is expected to increase significantly to 5.1-5.5 mln tons, due to the increase in the planted areas by more than 46%. The production of rapeseed is forecasted at 3.4-3.6 mln tonnes, which is slightly less than the record figures of 2023.

In August, the volume of sunseed crushing by Ukrainian mills was the lowest since August 2022, amounting to only about 640 thsd tonnes (-37% y-o-y). As a result, Ukraine exported about 200 thsd tonnes of sunflower oil, down 45% compared to the same period in July.

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Tags: Ukraine, sunflower oil, soybean oil, soybean, sunseed, rapeseed