7 June 2023

Ukrainian sunflower oil exports decreased in May compared to April's record high, but remain active.

According to preliminary data, Ukrainian sunflower oil exports in May amounted to 453,000 tons, which is 91,000 tons less than the previous month's record (for the current marketing year).

Turkey remains the largest importer of Ukrainian sunflower oil in the reporting month.

In total, since the beginning of the 2022/23 season, Ukrainian sunflower oil exports amounted to 4.2 million tons (for the same period last season – 3.6 million tons).

Despite the obstacles with the operation of the grain corridor and other problems, sunoil exports remain very active and, in fact, exceed our previous expectations.

According to our preliminary estimates, the total export of sunflower oil from Ukraine in the 2022/23 season was projected at 4.5 million tons. Currently, it seems that the estimate can be increased to 4.7-4.8 tons (three months remain before the end of the season, so it is 150-200 thousand tons monthly on average during June-August).

Sunflower seeds exports in May were relatively small and amounted to 46,000 tons (compared to 39,000 tons in April and 200,000 tons in March).

A reduction in sunflower seeds exports means a decrease in the profitability of crushers (starting from the second quarter of the current year).

In total, since the beginning of the season, Ukraine has exported 1.9 thousand tons of sunflower seeds (our preliminary expectations for the total export of sunflower seeds for the season are 2 million tons).

Our recent overview of the Ukrainian sunflower seeds and oil market is available at the link.