The global sunflower market – prospects and challenges
The global vegetable oil market underwent significant changes in May 2026, as India, the world's largest importer of oils, radically changed its purchasing structure. Due to gas shortages and rising gas prices, the country reduced palm oil imports in April by 27% compared to March to an annual low of 505 thousand tons, while doubling sunflower oil imports to a 22-month high of 435 thousand tons.
Indian traders are buying sunflower oil as a reserve because its processing margin is higher than that of other oils, which encourages imports. Most of the contracts were concluded before the war with Iran, but the complicated geopolitical situation only strengthens this trend.
Argentina is actively increasing its exports of sunflower and its processed products. In the 2025/26 MY, more than 3 million hectares were sown with sunflower, and its harvest increased by 28.6% compared to the previous season to 7.2 million tons. In the provinces of Santa Fe, the area under sunflower increased by 500 thousand hectares, and in other departments they tripled. Experts explain this by a combination of agronomic and economic factors - sunflower is well adapted to arid conditions and is in high demand from processing plants. Early August crops yield significantly higher yields and oil content than October ones.
Prices for Argentine sunflower oil are $1,270-1,300/t FOB, which increases pressure on the world market.
The European Union has significantly reduced imports of oilseeds this season, in particular soybeans by 10% to 10.54 million tons, rapeseed by 29% to 4.12 million tons. Imports of sunflower oil have decreased by 23% to 1.58 million tons, while imports of soybean oil have increased by 57% and rapeseed oil by 94%. The EU industry is actively replacing sunflower oil with blends of soybean and rapeseed oil.
At the same time, demand for sunflower in the EU is growing. Cargill announced an investment of $ 150 million in the modernization of the plant in Saint-Nazaire (France). It is planned to switch production to high-protein sunflower meal for animal feed to reduce dependence on imports. Sunflower husks will be used as fuel for the boiler, which will reduce natural gas consumption and reduce CO 2 emissions by 90%.
In the Russian Federation, sunflower sowing is proceeding very slowly, and by the beginning of May, only 10.2% of the planned areas or 1.23 million hectares had been sown with it, in particular in the Voronezh region – 9%, Kursk – 8%, Lipetsk – 5%. The cold and rainy weather in April delayed sowing in the Central Federal District for 2-3 weeks, and in the Volga region (a region with an area of over 5 million hectares) work has not yet begun. Only the North Caucasus, Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories are adhering to the plans. From May 9, forecasters are again promising rain and a cold snap, but active sowing will be carried out in the period from May 10 to 25. Against the background of the delay in sowing, prices for sunflower increased by 125 rubles/t, for oil – by 175 rubles/t.
In Ukraine, sunflower prices have risen to 32,500-33,000 UAH/t SRT plant against the backdrop of reduced supply and active export demand. However, the high-oleic sunflower market cannot yet return to pre-war positions. Exports of high-oleic oil in the 2025/26 MY will decrease by 8% compared to the previous season to 207 thousand tons. The EU reduced its purchase by 22%, but Malaysia increased it by 82%, the USA by 13%, Canada by 53%, and Singapore by more than 30 times, which indicates an expansion of the geography of supplies and a decrease in dependence on the European direction.
