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Ukraine remains the European Union's leading supplier of sunflower oil, despite a decline in its production compared with the previous year, according to the latest European Commission data cited by Germany's Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants (UFOP).
Between 1 July 2024 and 2 February 2025, the EU (27 member states) imported around 1.24 million tonnes of sunflower oil, well below the 1.51 million tonnes imported during the same period the previous year, but higher than the 1.13 million tonnes recorded in the 2022/2023 marketing season, according to a report published on 13 February 2025.
However, the pace of imports slowed markedly in the weeks leading up to the report, with weekly import volumes falling from around 59,000 tonnes in December to less than 25,000 tonnes in early February.
Ukraine remained by far the leading supplier, having exported 1.17 million tonnes of sunflower oil to the EU so far, representing a market share of 94%, according to data from the Agricultural Market Information Company.
Even so, this volume falls short of the 1.40 million tonnes supplied to the EU during the same period the previous year.
The report noted that the decline in production stems from a significant drop in the availability of raw material this season, which has curbed processing activity and, in turn, limited Ukraine's capacity to export sunflower oil.
Serbia and Bosnia ranked second and third among suppliers in terms of importance, with market shares of 3% and less than 1%, respectively.
Nevertheless, their exports also remained below the previous year's levels, the report said.
Source: Al Mal Forum