Sunflower Oil at Over 3-Year Highs

Sunflower oil futures climbed to about $1,540 per tonne, the highest in over three years, after supply squeezes in the Black Sea collided with firm industrial and biodiesel demand. USDA WASDE revisions trimmed global sunflowerseed output and crush forecasts as weaker harvests in Ukraine and parts of the Black Sea removed expected exportable tonnage. Regional exporters and consultancies report materially lower shipments year on year as Ukraine and Russia curtail flows, while weather damage and port disruptions have cut near term availability and raised freight premia, forcing buyers to chase scarce cargoes. South American and EU production gains have partly offset the shortfall but remain too small to fill the gap, keeping seed availability tight and crush margins elevated. Strong edible oil consumption and biofuel blending obligations have sustained physical offtake, so the market is clearing at higher prices and sunflower oil is up roughly 12% year to date.

Sunflower oil futures climbed to around $1,430 per tonne, near the highest in over three years, as tightened raw-material availability and constrained export flows met renewed buying from key importers. Ukrainian seed supplies are smaller this season and quality has deteriorated in parts of the crop, prompting processors to raise bids and compete aggressively for remaining volumes. Concurrently, attacks on tankers in and near the Black Sea have increased shipping risk and disrupted some loadings, cutting the pool of immediately available export cargoes and forcing buyers to pay up for prompt shipments. That squeeze on nearby supply has coincided with firmer demand in South Asia, where Russian and Ukrainian offers for December delivery have risen and CIF India prices moved higher. Recoveries in palm and soybean oil have further supported sunflower values by narrowing substitution options and lifting replacement-value thresholds.

Sunflower oil futures climbed past $1,415 per tonne, nearing late-2022 highs as exportable supplies from the Black Sea and the EU tightened while processors and large buyers rebuilt inventories, leaving available tons scarce versus demand. Ukraine’s harvest is running well below last year’s pace, about 9.01 million tonnes harvested from 92% of area versus roughly 10.07 million tonnes a year earlier, and rain delays plus quality issues mean processors expect a smaller usable crop. Argentina has raised exports, shipping about 1.36 million tonnes January–October, but that gain only partly offsets lower volumes from traditional suppliers and a downward revision of 2025/26 global sunflower oil production to roughly 22 million tonnes. Large Indian import demand and active stockbuilding by processors have pushed premiums above rival oils, so even as palm and soy oils weakened, concentrated Black Sea supply losses have forced buyers to compete hard for limited sunflower oil cargoes.