Sunflower prices are rising in Ukraine, while sunflower oil is getting cheaper
In Ukraine, sunflower prices are rising again after a brief period of decline. The reasons cited are high demand and low raw material stocks. At the same time, the sunflower oil market is seeing a decline in prices due to rising vegetable oil stocks in India and weaker activity among importers.
This information is reported by the "Grain Exchange."
What is happening in the sunflower and oil market
After a brief decline last week, sunflower prices in Ukraine have begun to rise again. The market is supported by consistently high demand for raw materials, although the situation with sunflower oil remains subdued.
Over the past week, prices for sunflower oil for delivery to India have fallen by another $10 per ton—to $1,390–1,400 CIF Mumbai. This also affected the Russian and Ukrainian markets: Russian oil fell to $1,285–1,290 FOB, while bid prices for Ukrainian sunflower oil at Black Sea ports dropped to $1,315–1,320 per ton.
One of the reasons for the pressure on the market was the growth of vegetable oil stocks in India. Amid active imports, they reached a 15-month high of 2.1 million tons, while last year this figure stood at 1.35 million tons. As a result, importers are scaling back their market activity.
At the same time, Ukrainian processors are reporting a decline in profitability. According to their estimates, the sunflower processing margin is already at minus $20–25 per ton. As a result, some plants are suspending operations or switching to soybean processing.
Despite this, limited sunflower seed stocks in Ukraine continue to support high demand for the crop at least until the start of active rapeseed processing.
Over the course of the week, purchase prices for sunflower seeds with 50% oil content rose by 500 UAH per ton—to 31,500–33,000 UAH per ton excluding VAT, or $630–660.
Meanwhile, the planting campaign continues. As of May 18, 3.727 million hectares had been planted with sunflowers in Ukraine, representing 75% of the planned area. The pace of planting is currently lagging behind last year’s, but farmers are trying to speed up work due to the forecast of heavy rainfall.
High global oil prices are providing additional support to the oilseed market. At the same time, analysts expect that potential agreements between Iran and the U.S. regarding the partial resumption of oil exports from the Persian Gulf could lead to a decline in oil prices in the near future.
The market expects oil prices to rise to $100 per barrel, according to Bloomberg.
Global oil prices rose during trading on Thursday, May 21, partially offsetting the sharp drop from the previous day.
Russian oil is on the rise again, shifting the balance of the Russian Federation’s revenues
Oil prices rose amid expectations of a meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Traders are focusing on possible signals regarding a resolution to the conflict with Iran, which has affected global oil supplies.
