Chuck Penner, an analyst at LeftField Commodity Research, says the situation in the global sunflower market could change in the near future due to the Russian war against Ukraine. According to the expert, Ukrainian farmers accounted for about 30% of the total global oilseed crop in recent years.
“The difficulty is that some of the factories in Ukraine are now closed, so the oil is neither produced nor exported. One of the consequences is a short-term decline in the world production and supply of sunflower oil. A certain number of products simply do not come to the market. The situation forces buyers to switch to other oils such as palm, soy or rapeseed,” the expert said.
Penner believes that Ukrainian farmers could face difficulties sowing in the coming weeks, so the country’s crop next year is also likely to be at risk. This situation has led to sharply rising prices for sunflower seeds in recent days, especially in Europe.
“Sunflower markets in North America are largely insulated from what is happening in the global market. The reason is that not much sunflower oil is exported from the US and Canada. Most of it is consumed domestically. However, this may change with a sharp drop in production in Ukraine,” Penner concludes.