Sunflower oil output in Ukraine may hit all-time low in 2024-2025 MY - analysts

MOSCOW. Oct 11 (Interfax) - Ukraine processed around 861,000 tonnes of sunflower seeds in the first month of the new 2024-2025 season, which was the smallest amount for September since the 2014-2015 marketing year (MY), Ukrainian media said, citing the APK-Inform information and analytical center.

"This figure is almost at the level of last year's September volume (-1%). However, the difference is that at the beginning of the 2023-2024 season, Ukrainian companies encountered difficulties with exports due to the suspension of the Odessa ports' operations, a circumstance which did not allow processing to grow at a more active pace, whereas the main problem this season is the formation of the raw stuff base," APK-Inform analysts said.

In the expectation of a lower sunflower harvest in 2024, the majority of farmers are reluctant to sell their produce, they said. As a result, purchase prices for oilseeds went up in September, reaching an all-time high since February 2022 of UAH 22,000-23,800 per tonne CPT in early October.

Nevertheless, the price growth did not encourage farmers to speed up their sales of sunflower seeds, as the high demand demonstrated by processing enterprises prompted farmers to hold back their products in the hope of new price records. At the same time, the growth of raw stuff prices is buoyed by rising prices for sunflower oil exports.

APK-Inform forecasts that the amount of sunflower seeds to be processed in Ukraine in the 2024-2025 MY may be the smallest over the past three seasons, also dropping 11% to around 13 million-13.4 million tonnes year-on-year.