Sunflower prices in the Ukrainian market have fallen to a three-month low as a drop in crude oil prices puts pressure on the vegetable oil complex. At the same time, new distribution opportunities for the Omicron variety raise concerns about tighter movement restrictions in Europe. AgriCensus report this.
Ukrainian sunflower oil prices for February shipment have fallen by an average of US$25 per tonne per day in recent days and now stand at US$1,288 per tonne on FOB terms, near the lowest level since early 2021/22. Season.
“This occurred against a backdrop of a lack of proposals for sunflower seeds from Ukrainian farmers, who continue to hold back commodity sales despite bumper harvests and falling sunflower oil prices,” the release said.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that Ukraine’s sunflower crop will reach a record 17.5 million tonnes, 19% more than last year when production across the region suffered from dry conditions.
Under the influence of a sharper drop in prices for the dairy complex, sunflower processors lowered their prices by more than UAH 1,500-2,000 / t (USD 55-73 / t) last week.
However, sunflower supply remains minimal, while processors believe farmers are not expected to sell oilseeds until early February.
Despite the low raw material supply for processors, monthly exports of sunflower oil are increasing.
According to the State Statistics Committee, sales of this product to foreign markets increased by 32% in November compared to October, bringing exports from September to November of the 2021/22 season to 1.35 million tonnes.
However, this figure is still 7.5 % lower than the previous year.
According to USDA estimates, exports of sunflower oil from Ukraine will grow by 21% to up to 6.65 million tonnes in the 2021/22 marketing year.
Source: OleoScope