Global vegetable oil prices continue to rise, but sunflower oil “lags behind” — Sunstone Brokers

By the end of the third week of the war in the Middle East, the global vegetable oil market is showing mixed dynamics. Palm, soybean and rapeseed oils are rising, while sunflower oil is not, Serhii Repetskyi, managing partner at Sunstone Brokers, told Latifundist.com.

In recent weeks, palm oil prices have increased by around $30/t, rapeseed oil by $30–40/t in Europe, while soybean oil has shown high volatility in line with crude oil. At the same time, sunflower oil has not followed this upward trend.

“Sunflower oil is the only one that’s been truly unlucky. Prices have not moved up; on the contrary, despite rising freight rates at destination markets, buyers are acting as if nothing has happened. Prices have increased by just $5–7/t in Turkey and India, while in European ports they have even declined,” Repetskyi said.

Additional pressure comes from competition with Argentine sunflower oil, which for May–June shipments is trading at a discount of about $30/t to Black Sea-origin oil on the Indian market, he added.

According to him, the main reason for the weak performance is a shift in demand toward cheaper oils. Trading activity also remains subdued: in India, it is below average, while in the EU it is almost absent. Only the Turkish market has shown some activity recently.