Palm oil continues to rise in price amid a shortage of sunflower oil

Russia's war against Ukraine has been going on for 43 days, and during that time the aggressor has not won any "victories", except for mass deliberate killings of civilians and 80-90% of cities destroyed, such as Bucha, Borodyanka or Mariupol.

Ukraine is actively defending itself, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces have driven the enemy out of Kyiv, partly Sumy, and Chernihiv oblasts, but the Russians are redeploying troops to capture Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, where fierce fighting is currently underway.

The Russian military continues to block Ukraine's seaports. The previously announced corridors for exiting foreign civilian vessels from Ukrainian ports are not working, as Russia has mined sea passages in the Black Sea, blaming Ukraine, although all sea mines remained in Crimea during its capture in 2014. Turkey has discovered near its shores and neutralized the third sea mine.

Traders have realized that there will be no exit of blocked ships, and hence no supplies of sunflower oil from Ukraine, so palm oil prices have resumed growth, having recovered from last week's decline.

June futures for palm oil on the Bursa stock exchange in Malaysia since the beginning of the week rose by 6.2% to 5912 ringgit / t or 1403 $ / t, approaching the level of 6000 ringgit / t, where they are held for almost a month.

According to surveying company Intertek Testing Services, Malaysia during April 1-5 compared to the same period in March, exports of palm oil by 45% to 107.98 thousand tons, which confirms the decline in demand from buyers due to rising prices. In the coming months, as weather improves, palm oil production in Malaysia will increase, so in May and June, when prices begin to fall, demand may intensify, but everything will depend on the resumption of exports from Ukraine.

Experts from Strategie Grains said that the production and export of sunflower oil from Ukraine may be suspended until June, although domestic exporters are already actively increasing sunflower oil supplies through the ports of Romania and Bulgaria, and buyers will receive these batches in April-May.

Demand prices for sunflower oil delivered to the EU fell to $ 1,500-1,600 per tonne of DAP pending an increase in supply, but will rise as traders begin transshipment of oil in Romanian and Bulgarian ports to India and China.

Prices for soybean oil on the Chicago Stock Exchange rose 0.9% to $ 1584 / t on Monday, but remain under pressure from rising supply from South America, which is completing soybean harvesting.

According to the Conab agency, as of April 2, soybeans in Brazil were harvested in 81% of the area (79% last year).