3 September 2023

The export of sunflower oil from Ukraine remains active - in the last month of the 2022/23 season, it amounted to more than 400,000 tons.

According to preliminary data of customs statistics, Ukrainian sunflower oil exports in August 2023 amounted to almost 450,000 tons, which is considered rather high figure as for the last month of the season.

In total, in the 2022/23 season (from September 2022 to the end of August 2023), Ukraine exported more than 5.6 million tons of sunflower oil. For comparison, in the 2021/22 season, oil exports amounted to only 4.5 million tons, while USDA estimates of Ukrainian exports in the MY2022/23 made in the beginning of the 2023 calendar year amounted to only 3.9 million tons.

The monthly dynamics of the export of Ukrainian sunflower oil during the last two seasons is shown in the following graph:

According to the final official data published by Ukrstat, the total sunflower seeds harvest in Ukraine in 2022 was 11.3 million tons. Taking into account the current export figures, it can be assumed that the actual sunflower harvest was higher than the official data by 1-1.5 million tons.

In 2023, according to official data, the total sown area of sunflower seeds in Ukraine was 5.2 thousand hectares, which is almost the same as the previous year. As of the end of August, sunflower harvesting is just beginning.

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