Vegetable Oil Price Index up 10 pct — FAO

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index averaged 164.7 points in December, up 14.1 points (9.4%) from November and reaching a 25-month high.

"The latest upturn was primarily driven by firming palm oil prices, while soy, sunflower and rapeseed oil values also increased. International palm oil prices rose for the fifth consecutive month on solid demand, especially from the biodiesel sector, coinciding with prospects of tightening supplies," experts note.

Further to the positive effect from rising palm oil values, the prices of soy, sunflower and rapeseed oils also responded to, respectively, reduced crushing volumes in major producing countries, firm global import demand, and concerns over tightening world supplies.

Notwithstanding the strong rebound in prices since November, for 2019 as a whole, FAO’s Vegetable Oil Price Index averaged 135.2 points, down 8.9 points from 2018 and marking the lowest annual average since 2006.

In December 2019, the export of refined sunflower oil from Ukraine equalled 70 thou. t thus reaching a record high monthly volume of the shipment.