Weekly exports of Ukrainian oilseeds and processed products jumped in the week to May 10 despite low buying interest from key importers and uncertainty over the timing of the grain corridor, official data showed on Thursday, May 11.
Sunflower oil exports
The weekly volume of sunflower oil declared for export jumped by 47% from the previous week and reached 104,955 tonnes.
That has pushed total sunflower oil exports since the beginning of the 2022-23 marketing year in September to 3.5 million tonnes, up 11% year-on-year.
Turkey was the primary buyer taking 34,129 tonnes of sunflower oil during the reporting week, closely followed by China with 29,640 tonnes, Romania (16,322 tonnes), Poland (6,855 tonnes), and finally, the Netherlands (5,451 tonnes).
Market sources suggest overall demand is likely to be sluggish for the next few weeks, as buyers have mostly covered their short-term needs, which could result in further downward pressure on sunflower oil prices unless any significant macroeconomic or geopolitical events occur to change the market dynamics.
“Turkey is very well covered. We have already bought more than what is actually needed. Therefore, I guess consumer demand will be dull in the near future. Also, the pipeline in other major destinations such as China and India seems to be healthy,” said Yılmaz Cakabey Aytug from Naragro.
Sunflower seed exports
The weekly volume of sunflower seeds registered for export increased by 78% however remained at a year low of 7,601 tonnes, with almost the entire volume again booked by Turkey (3,856 tonnes) and Romania (3,382 tonnes).
During the week, were heard about trades for sunflower seeds $495-$502 per tonne CIF Marmara.
The cumulative volume since the start of the 2022-23 marketing year in September 2022 was virtually unchanged at 1.8 million tonnes.
Sunflower meal exports
Sunflower meal exports during the reporting period tripled to 86,232 tonnes, with more than half of the volume destined for China at 51,716 tonnes, followed by Turkey at 9,855 tonnes and Poland at 9,184 tonnes.
The cumulative volume since the start of the 2022-23 marketing year in September 2022 has now reached 2.77 million tonnes, up 5% with exports for the same period in 2022.
Finally, weekly soybean exports doubled to 58,437 tonnes, with the lion’s share booked by Egypt (32,878 tonnes), followed by Romania (9,602 tonnes), Turkey (7,000 tonnes) and Germany (4,357 tonnes).
That pushed the total volume of soybeans exported since September 1 to 2.6 million tonnes, a 2.6-fold increase from the same period of 2022.
Note: The data was provided by the Ukrainian customs authorities and shows the goods that have been declared for export, but the figures do not always correspond to the volumes that physically left the country during the period.
For more information on the current oilseeds market, take a look at our dedicated page for oilseed prices.
