In 2021/22, the EU will be able to reach a record high rate of sunflower processing thanks to the increase in production of the oilseed as well as the growth in the demand for Ukrainian sunflower seed, especially since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Maxence Devillers, market analyst of Agritel, Argus media company stated during his speech at the online conference Sunflower Seed And Oil: New Reality On Global Market organized by APK-Inform on July 7.
Over the past years, EU countries were dependent on the import of sunflower oil, particularly Ukrainian, the share of which was about 80%.
However, the beginning of the war in Ukraine forced the EU countries to diversify the import of sunflower oil, because the supply from Ukraine was reduced. Thus, since March, there has been a significant increase in the supply of sunflower oil from Russia, in addition to maintaining imports from Moldova. Moreover, the EU significantly raised the import of sunflower seed for further processing.
"However, the problem is that it is very difficult to replace Ukrainian sunflower oil with products of alternative origin", – M. Devillers noted.
In 2022/23 MY, the stronger demand for sunflower seed in the EU will be maintained due to the fact that the oilseed production can reach a record 11.1 mln tonnes in the block of countries. The import of the oilseed will grow to 1.3 mln tonnes, mainly from Ukraine. As a result, the sunflower processing can reach a record high 10.4 mln tonnes or about 20% of the total volume of oilseeds processing in the EU.
