Ukraine: Refined sunflower oil producers maintain their position

The fat-and-oil industry of Ukraine keeps operating in war conditions, adapting to current market trends (a small sunseed crop, power outages, reduced sales, low throughput capacity of the “grain corridor,” etc.).

Sunflower oil exports in the first four months of MY 2022/23 (September-December) decreased by 14%. However, shipments of refined sunflower oil grew by 2.6%.

In the 2022/23 season, the export of refined sunflower oil kept rising compared to that of crude sunflower oil.

The average monthly export of refined sunflower oil has lowered. This season’s average monthly shipments are a bit higher than last season (2021/22).

The share of refined sunflower oil in total exports fell to 10.6%.

The war factor continued impacting the top list of the biggest exporters (the facility’s location in close proximity to ports, in the area of ongoing hostilities, switching logistics to deliveries by land, the “grain corridor’s” operation).

The EU’s export share continued growing. It equaled 45% in MY 2021/22, but then increased to 53% in the first four months of the 2022/23 season. Also, the top list includes Turkey, Malaysia and Jordan.

The forecast for refined sunflower oil exports in MY 2022/23 remains optimistic. UkrAgroConsult’s export forecast at above 40 K mt per month is quite reliable. This brings Ukraine’s export of refined sunflower oil to at least 500 K mt with the product’s export share up at 12%.