Ukraine shows lowest oil export figure in 8 years in 24/25

In the 2024/25 marketing year (as of March 1), Ukraine reduced its sunflowerseed oil exports compared to the same period last season by 24% to 2.4 million tons, which was the lowest figure for this period since the 2016/17 marketing year.

This is stated in the message of the Electronic Grain Exchange.

The message states that the reduction in exports occurred due to high raw material prices and low oil prices.

In February, sunflowerseed oil exports decreased compared to January by 14% to 325,000 tons, which is the lowest figure for this month in the last 10 years.

It is noted that the main buyers of Ukrainian oil remained EU countries, which accounted for 54% of total exports.

For the first time in the last three seasons, India became the leader among importers of domestic sunflowerseed oil, purchasing 417,000 tons, which is five times higher than the same period last season.

In general, oil exports remain weak, as Ukrainian refiners cannot ensure raw material stocks for stable operation for several months, which leads to a drop in processing margins to zero or even negative values ​​​​against the backdrop of sharp price fluctuations.

During the week, demand prices for sunflowerseed oil in Ukraine decreased by USD 5-10 / ton to USD 1,110-1,115 / ton with delivery to Black Sea ports against the backdrop of falling prices for palm and soybean oil and a collapse in oil quotes.

At the same time, processors maintain purchase prices for sunflower with 50% oil content at a high level of UAH 26,500-27,500 / ton with delivery to the plant, hoping for a recovery in oil prices in the second half of the season.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, since the beginning of 2025, four Kernel plants have been idle or significantly underloaded due to record low sunflower stocks.

In the 2023/2024 marketing year (m.y.) (September 2023 - August 2024), compared to the pre-war 2020/21 m.y., sunflowerseed oil production increased by 13.7% to 6.6 million tons, and exports - by 17% to 6.2 million tons, while these indicators became the second result in the years of the industry's existence.