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The European market for sunflower oil witnessed a sharp price increase on Friday, with values for December–March delivery across the six major European ports climbing by $60–65 per ton. This market volatility follows reports indicating a widespread halt in operations at Ukrainian oilseed processing facilities.
Serhii Repetskyi, a partner at Sunstone Brokers, confirmed the trend to Latifundist.com, noting that the disruption has sparked active interest among traders. Repetskyi estimates that approximately 50% of Ukraine's total sunflower processing capacity is currently offline, though the duration of this downtime remains uncertain. While the price hike has impacted the ports market, Repetskyi noted that physical market consumers have yet to feel the full effect. Significant reactions and renewed demand are anticipated early next week, particularly from the Italian and Spanish markets.
In contrast, Turkey has not seen a similar surge in demand or prices. Local market participants are reportedly pivoting toward the import of Ukrainian sunflower seeds for domestic crushing instead of oil. On Friday, an offer of 40,000 tons appeared, and 21,000 tons were traded to Turkey at prices between $630 and $640 per ton CIF. Due to sluggish demand for Turkish refined oil, crude oil imports are expected to remain limited to 20,000–25,000 tons per month, with domestic processing of seeds meeting needs through February.
India's market remained relatively calm following the Diwali festival. With Ukraine accounting for less than 15% of India's sunflower oil imports, traders believe Russian supplies can easily bridge any shortfall. Russian sellers offered sunflower oil at $1,460 per ton for December delivery and $1,440 for January, though buyers are bidding lower at around $1,420–1,425 per ton.
Repetskyi concluded that the impact is currently localized to Ukraine's domestic market and European port prices. He expects Ukrainian sellers to re-enter the market once European prices move even higher in the coming days.
Source: UkrAgroConsult