FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index hit a three-year high

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index stood at 176.3 points in January, up 11.6 points (or 7.0%) from December and hitting a three-year high, FAO reports.

"International palm oil values rose for the sixth consecutive month, underpinned by prospects of tightening global supplies amid brisk demand from the biodiesel sector. Prices of soy and sunflower oils also kept rising, as robust global import demand coincided with lower than anticipated export availabilities," the report reads.

Meanwhile, rapeseed oil quotations climbed to their highest level since May 2014, reflecting continued tightness in global supplies, FAO specialists add.

As reported, from mid-January onward, however, prices across the vegetable oil complex lost strength, largely reflecting uncertainties over the implications of the US-China trade deal and concerns about the potential impact of the global coronavirus health emergency. In the case of palm oil, trade tensions between India and Malaysia added to the downward pressure on prices.

In the period of January-December 2019, soybean oil export shipment from Ukraine totalled 374.85 thou. t worth USD 241 mln. This indicator is 75% higher YoY (2018: 214.71 thou. t).