The high-oleic sunflower market in Ukraine has still not returned to pre-war levels, and the premium has decreased again

The high-oleic sunflower market in Ukraine cannot yet return to pre-war levels, as the increase in sowing areas in recent years has been offset by weather conditions and unstable premiums.

According to estimates by APK-Inform, in the 2025/26 MY, exports of high-oleic oil may decrease by 8% compared to the previous season to 207 thousand tons.

Changes are also taking place in the geography of exports. Thus, in the 2025/26 MY, the main buyer of Ukrainian high-oleic sunflower oil – the EU – reduced purchases compared to the previous season by 22% to 84.3 thousand tons, reducing its share in Ukrainian exports from 72% to 60%.

At the same time, Singapore increased imports of this oil 30 times, the USA by 13%, Canada by 53%, Malaysia by 82%, entering the TOP 5 importers, and Saudi Arabia by 47%, despite the difficult situation in the Middle East.

In total, Ukrainian high-oleic oil is exported to 50 countries, so reducing dependence on one region may become a driver for the recovery of the sunflower EO market in the coming years.

The premium for high-oleic sunflower this season reached 5,000 UAH/t (compared to the usual one), but now it has decreased to 3,000 UAH/t amid reduced demand.

Factories in the south of the country are constantly under fire from the Russian Federation, so they are reducing processing, while others are buying mainly regular sunflower, the prices of which have risen sharply in recent weeks due to supply shortages.

Currently, prices for high-oleic sunflower in Ukraine are 34,000-35,000 UAH/t delivered to the factory, while prices for regular sunflower have increased to 32,500-33,500 UAH/t (for 48% oil content) delivered to the factory.

However, given the shortage of raw materials for processing in the 2025/26 MY, demand for high-oleic sunflower can be expected to recover by the end of the season.