Sunflower oil prices continue plunging

An increase in the supply of sunflower oil amidst the rich sunflower crop in the Black Sea region and weak demand in the external market are exerting pressure on prices, Refinitiv Agriculture writes.

Supply prices of crude sunflower oil from Ukraine in November-December are at the level of 690-695 $/ton FOB Chernomorsk compared to 695-700 $/ton FOB earlier, while demand prices do not exceed 680-685 $/t.

"The demand prices for crude sunflower oil supply from Russia FOB Azov in the period of October-November are 660-670 $/t. Sellers rush to satisfy sales requests, as they expect the price drop to continue," analysts note.

Market operators are observing weak demand from major importers, India and China, as most of the purchases were made in the summer period.

According to the report, Turkey is now the main buyer of Russian sunflower oil, as Iran has problems with payment. In this regard, Turkish importers are trying to reduce prices even more.

As a reminder, in 2018/19 crushing plants in Ukraine produced 5.5 mln t of sunflower oil.