Ukraine sunflower oil exports fall 21%

According to official data, oilseeds exports pick up pace against slower product shipments

Exports of sunflower and rapeseed from Ukraine increased in the week to November 29, while exports of sunflower and soybean meal fell, official ministry data showed on Thursday.

The weekly volume of sunflower oil declared for export during the reporting period decreased by more than 21% compared to the previous week and amounted to 110,610 tonnes.

Total exports since the beginning of the season reached 1.28 million tonnes as of the reporting date, of which 517,321 tonnes were exported from November 1 to November 29.

While November is not over yet, the volumes exported as of November 29 suggest this month’s volume of sunflower oil exports will be the highest since April 2023.

The main destinations announced in November for Ukrainian sunflower oil exports were Romania (171,784 tonnes) and Turkey (92,650 tonnes), followed by Spain (39,409 tonnes) and Poland (39,811 tonnes) with almost equal shares.

Exports of sunflower meal remained relatively stable during the reporting week, with a declared export volume of 93,443 tonnes, bringing the total export volume since the beginning of the year to 1.17 million tonnes.

Between November 1 and November 29, China bought almost 135,451 tonnes or 38% of total November sunflower meal exports.

Oilseeds exports

Soybean exports during the reporting period decreased by almost 10% to 89,539 tonnes, bringing total exports since the beginning of the season to 1.14 tonnes.

The main buyers of Ukrainian soybeans in November remain Egypt and Turkey with shares of 179,748 tonnes and 119,582 tonnes, respectively.

Exports of rapeseed since the beginning of the 2023-24 season amounted to 2.38 million tonnes at the reporting date, of which 326,886 tonnes were exported from November 1 to November 29, 2023.

The main buyers of Ukrainian rapeseed in November were Germany (143,223 tonnes) and Belgium (51,954 tonnes).

During the reporting week, rapeseed exports increased by 96% compared to the previous week to 116,669 tonnes.

Finally, exports of Ukrainian sunflower to EU countries continued to increase in the reporting week with 12,460 tonnes exported, bringing total exports since the beginning of the season to 78,131 tonnes.

Sunflower exports from November 1 to November 29 amounted to 35,731 tonnes, which is the highest volume since May 2023.

Spain and France, with shares of 12,693 tonnes and 8,787 tonnes respectively, were the main buyers of Ukrainian sunflower in November.

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