Lang
On the morning of December 20, Russian drones attacked Allseeds, Ukraine’s largest oil-shipping terminal, at Pivdennyi Port, causing the loss of thousands of tonnes of sunflower oil and damaging plant infrastructure.
Russian attacks on Turkish tankers sailing from Ukrainian ports and strikes on Black Sea port infrastructure have nearly paralyzed seaborne exports from Ukraine, creating much-needed support for Russian sunflower oil prices. This also supported palm oil prices, which have been under pressure from rising inventories.
Offer prices for Russian sunflower oil for January delivery rose by $40 to $50 per tonne to $1,240–$1,250 per tonne FOB. However, asking prices for sunflower oil delivered to India remained unchanged during the week at $1,320–$1,325 per tonne CIF Mumbai.
Vegetable oil prices in India are under pressure from higher supplies of soybean oil and palm oil, as well as a weaker Indian rupee.
According to importers, a 100,000-tonne soybean oil shipment has been canceled or postponed because of the sharp increase in domestic soybean oil supply in the country.
January soybean oil futures on the global exchange fell by 2% during the week to $1,065 per tonne and are trading 4.6% below their level a month earlier, amid uncertainty over US biofuel production and lower soybean prices.
Brazilian soybean oil prices fell by $10 per tonne over the week to $1,085–$1,090 per tonne FOB, while prices in China declined by another $20 to $30 per tonne to $1,130–$1,140 per tonne.
January palm oil futures on Bursa Malaysia rose by 1.8% over the week to RM4,035 per tonne, or $995 per tonne, supported by speculative buying linked to the possibility of lower Black Sea exports and a recovery in crude oil prices.
However, the underlying fundamentals of higher palm oil supply are expected to continue limiting prices.
According to cargo surveyor AmSpec Agri Malaysia, Malaysian palm oil exports fell by 0.87% month on month from December 1 to 20, confirming weak demand from importers.
According to the Indonesian Biofuel Producers Association (APROBI), Indonesia set its biodiesel production quota for 2026 at 15.646 million kiloliters, almost in line with the 2025 figure. This indicates that the current B40 mandate, using 40% palm oil in biofuel, is likely to remain unchanged.
This could increase Indonesian palm oil supply and add pressure to prices. The B50 program had been expected to absorb an additional 3.5 million to 4 million tonnes of palm oil in Indonesia.
Source: GrainTrade