According to the updated figures of APK-Inform Agency, in February 2019 Russia increased the exports of sunflower seed in almost 2 times compared with the previous month — to 23 thsd tonnes, which also became the maximum monthly figures since November 2017.
Generally, in the first half of 2018/19 MY Russia exported nearly 79 thsd tonnes of sunflower seed, up 26% compared with the same period last season.
At the same time, the Customs Union countries covered nearly 64 thsd tonnes (or 81%) of the general shipment structure (35% in the same period last season). In particular, in September-February of 2018/19 MY Belarus increased the purchases of Russian sunflower seed by 74% — to 28 thsd tonnes, and became the leader among the countries-importers of the oilseed.
Also, Kazakhstan demonstrated a significant increase in shipments — to 23 thsd tonnes (up 5 times), as well as Armenia — to 13 thsd tonnes (up 8 times), and China — to 8 thsd tonnes (up 5 times).
At the same time, the supplies to Turkey (232 tonnes, against 21 thsd tonnes), Iran (41 tonnes, against 9 thsd tonnes), and Azerbaijan (down 62%) significantly decreased.
As a reminder, the main importer of the Russian oilseed for 8 recent seasons — Turkey — significantly reduced the imports in the current MY.
