Ukrainian farmers got another chance to sell sunseed at a high price last week

The sharp increase in oil prices last week increased demand for vegetable oils and Ukrainian farmers’ hopes that sunflower seeds prices would rise again to the level of 27-28 thousand UAH/t, but the fall in oil prices turned oilseed markets downward.

During the week in Ukraine, prices for sunseed with 50% oil content increased by 400-500 UAH/t to 26,000-26,200 UAH/t (or $545-550/t excluding VAT) with delivery to the factory, supported by rising prices for sunflower oil in the EU against the backdrop of a strengthening euro exchange rate.

Rising diesel prices have boosted demand for biofuels and vegetable oils, and traders, in anticipation of a protracted conflict in the Middle East, were counting on further steady growth in oilseed prices.

But on Monday, Trump tweeted that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire starting June 24, sending oil prices down 8% in a day and a sharp drop in canola and soybean oil prices by 2-3%.

Export prices for sunflower oil in Ukraine are currently at $1,090–1,100/t with delivery to Black Sea ports, but due to the strengthening of the euro, demand prices from European buyers have increased by $5–10/t to $1,150–1,170/t DAP Greece or Macedonia.

July soybean oil futures in Chicago fell 2.4% yesterday to $1,170/t (+5.3% for the week, +7.5% for the month) following a decline in oil and soybean prices.

The price of Russian sunflower oil for June delivery fell by $35/t to $1,090/t FOB in a week due to reduced export demand.

China increased its sunflower oil imports in May by 66% compared to April to 60.3 thousand tons, of which 55.47% were supplied from the Russian Federation and 41% from Kazakhstan. However, total sunflower oil imports from January to May amounted to only 227.9 thousand tons, which is 60.86% lower than the corresponding figure in 2024 due to high prices for sunflower oil compared to palm and soybean oil, which costs about $ 1,150 / ton.

On June 19, the state-owned Chinese grain company (Sinograin) held its second tender this month for the purchase of 21,000 tons of sunflower oil, but purchased only 7,000 tons at a price of $1,439/ton, which is $20/ton higher than the price of the previous tender on June 12.

Demand for vegetable oils is declining again, so we expect another drop in sunflower prices to the level of 25,000 UAH/t (with delivery to the plant), especially against the background of a decrease in rapeseed prices, which will soon begin to arrive at the plants.

Tags: prices, Ukraine, sunflower oil