World prices for vegetable oils are rising, but there is no demand for Ukrainian sunflower oil

Russia's war against Ukraine continues to negatively affect vegetable oil markets, and has already led to reduced supply of sunflower oil from Ukraine and limited exports from Russia.

A new factor in supporting prices was the strike of truckers in Argentina, which could further reduce the supply of soybean and especially sunflower oil on the world market, as Argentina is the third largest producer of sunflower oil in the world after Russia and Ukraine. However, on Wednesday, drivers of grain trucks, industry groups and government officials were unable to agree to end the strike, so the economy of the world's largest exporter of soybean products may suffer.

June palm oil futures on the Malaysian Stock Exchange on Monday rose 6.2% to a monthly high of 6294 ringgit / t or $ 1488 / t. In this way, the market is responding to increasing problems with the search for raw materials, especially given the disruptions in supply chains over the past two years, first as a result of the pandemic and now the war in Ukraine.

In March, India increased its palm oil imports by 18.7% compared to February, as traders are looking for an alternative to sunflower oil, which has been blocked by Russian troops from Ukrainian ports.

May soybean futures on the Chicago Stock Exchange rose 5.2% this week.

Analysts expect that the amount of soybean processing in the United States in March in today's report of the NOPA will be estimated at 4.953 million tons.

Information about the shortage of sunflower oil in retail chains in France, Britain and Germany surprises Ukrainian producers, who offer a significant amount of both crude and refined oil with delivery to the western border. However, buyers are holding back purchases in anticipation of falling prices under the pressure of rising supply.

Demand prices for sunflower oil delivered to Romania and Poland fell to $ 1500-1600 / t DAP, but in India and Turkey prices remain high at $ 1800-2000 / t with delivery, so Ukrainian traders are looking for ways to transship oil in Romanian ports and Bulgaria to resume exports by sea. This will increase sales prices and generate additional income for Ukraine's war-torn economy.