Sunflower prices in Ukraine fall under pressure from increased supply

The decline in sunflower oil prices for delivery in November-December and the increase in sunflower supplies are increasing pressure on sunflower prices in Ukraine.

In Ukraine, sunflower harvesting is proceeding with a great delay, and as of September 25, only 43.6% of the crops or 2.24 million hectares have been threshed, from which 4.113 million tons of sunflower have been harvested with a yield of 1.84 tons/hectare, while last year, by this date, 66% of the area had already been threshed, and the average yield was 2.04 tons/hectare.

Due to the fall in prices for rapeseed and soybeans, the export of which has practically stopped after the introduction of duties, farmers prefer to sell sunflower, the prices for which remain at the level of the maximum of last season. Therefore, processors in recent weeks (according to market operators) have purchased about 1 million tons of sunflower and formed good stocks for processing, which led to the formation of 2-3-day queues at factories and a decrease in prices.

Demand prices for sunflower in Ukraine have decreased to the level of 26,000-27,500 UAH/t or $565-585/t excluding VAT (for 50% oil content) with delivery to the factory.

Demand prices for oil in Ukraine remain at $1,170-1,180/t with delivery to ports in September-October, but for deliveries in November-December prices have decreased to $1,140-1,160/t.

The 3.3% drop in oil prices is putting pressure on palm and other vegetable oil prices, so we expect a further decline in sunflower oil prices as harvest progresses in Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and Kazakhstan.