The increase in sunflower oil prices in Ukraine will be limited by the decrease in palm oil prices

In Ukraine, against the backdrop of increased demand, during the week, sunflower oil prices rose by $15-20/t to $800-815/t with delivery to Black Sea ports, $840-950/t with delivery to Belarus and $890/t with delivery to Italy. Against the backdrop of rising palm oil prices, importers have stepped up purchases of cheaper sunflower oil.

According to Trading Economics, for the week the average price of sunflower oil delivered to customers increased by 2.9% to $880/t.

Palm oil fell on expectations of lower oil prices as tensions eased in the Middle East as Israel withdrew some troops from the southern Gaza Strip.

May palm oil futures in Malaysia were down 2.5% in three sessions to 4,298 ringgit/t or $905/t (+0.7% for the week). After April 9, when the Ramadan celebration ends, the number of workers on the plantations will increase, so production will increase in April. The Palm Oil Board of Malaysia will release its production, export and reserves report on April 15, instead of the usual April 10, so the market will remain uncertain for now.

May soybean oil futures on the Chicago Stock Exchange fell 2.2% to $1,055/t yesterday (-0.6% for the week) as soybean prices remained under pressure from weak US exports and increased supply of cheap soybeans from South America.

According to Post, Egypt will increase its sunflower oil imports in 2023/24 compared to the previous season from 350,000 to 700,000 tons due to its better price and widespread use in blending with soybean oil for the subsidy program. During October – March 2023/24 MY, Egypt imported 483.8 thousand tons of sunflower oil compared to 217.4 thousand tons in the same period of MY 2022/23, as Ukraine and the Russian Federation significantly increased supplies to Egypt and offer sunflower oil at a better price than soy.

Tags: Ukraine, sunflower oil, prices, palm oil