Market info - Sunflower kernels
Sunflower kernels
Buyers are urged to be prepared to pay higher prices for sunflower seeds. Raw material prices have also surged in Ukraine as processing has gained pace.
Market players are engaged in fierce competition over the remaining raw seed supplies in Eastern Europe. Other producing countries such as Argentina and India are more or less barred from shipping to Europe as strict regulations on pesticides prevail in the EU. Reliabe estimates on sowing have still to be issued. Market players, nevertheless, reckon that the new season will start off with considerably higher prices.
Raw material supplies may run low before the new season starts in Ukraine. Issue is that production only ranged at 13 million mt in 2020/2021, which is 2 million mt less than last season. Nearly 6 million mt were, in addition, processed in the mills between August and December 2020. On top of this, export demand is up as production also ranged lower in other producing countries. At 4.3 million mt, supplies ranged on a five-year low in Ukraine at the beginning of February (-32% YOY).