India is planning to introduce a duty on the import of vegetable oils, which will limit the rise in prices

The Reuters agency, citing its own sources, reported that the Indian government plans to increase the import duty on vegetable oils to protect its farmers from lower oil prices. Such a decision, which may be taken in the coming weeks, will lead to a reduction in the demand and supply of palm, soybean and sunflower oil to the country.

Amid rising oil prices, October palm oil futures on Bursa Malaysia rose 2.4% for the week to RM3,920/t or $906.8/t (+6% for two weeks), despite falling export rates in August. According to surveyors Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS), Intertek Testing Services and AmSpec Agri Malaysia, for August 1-25, Malaysia reduced palm oil exports by 14.1-14.9%.

December soybean oil futures in Chicago for the week rose by 8.2% to $930/t, fully reversing the monthly decline.

The sharp increase in prices is due not only to the increase in the price of oil, but also to rumors about the US's intention to limit the import of used vegetable oil (UCO).

According to Trading Economics, the average price of sunflower oil delivered to buyers during the week increased by 2.3% to $928/t, but the demand prices for Ukrainian sunflower oil from EU buyers remained at €860-880/t or 930 -$970/t DAP Poland, Bulgaria and Italy.

During August 1-25, Ukraine exported 200,000 tons of sunflower oil, which is 45% less than the corresponding figure in July, reports IA "APK-Inform". Experts of the agency believe that in August, oil exports will be the smallest in the last 2 years due to a reduction in sunflower processing against the background of a shortage of raw materials.

In general, in 2023/24 MR (as of August 25), Ukraine exported 6.23 million tons of sunflower oil, which is one of the largest indicators for this period. The main buyer of Ukrainian oil was the European Union, which purchased a record 3.7 million tons.

Despite the early start of harvesting, sunflower supply on the market has not increased, so an increase in sunflower oil exports is not forecast to support prices. Most of the processing enterprises are undergoing preventive maintenance and will begin to work actively in September, so we should expect an increase in the supply of sunflower oil to the world market then.