In April, Turkey increased sunflower oil trade volumes after the sharp decline in March, informed Oil World.

Turkey imported 71 thsd tonnes of sunflower oil in March, down from 119 thsd tonnes in the same month in 2021. The decreased was caused by the war in Ukraine. The experts expect the import volume to reach 150-170 thsd tonnes in April. Purchases may reach 500-550 thsd tonnes in April-September compared to 296 thsd tonnes in the same period of the previous season.

There were no shipments of Ukrainian sunflower oil to Turkey in March (5 thsd tonnes in March 2021). It was 12 thsd tonnes in February.

At the same time, Turkey increased import of sunflower oil from Russia to 70 thsd tonnes in March, up from 60 thsd tonnes average for this month over the last 5 years.

In 2021/22 MY, Turkey may import record 1-1.1 mln tonnes of sunflower oil.

You can get more detailed information about prospects of trade with oilseeds and by-product as well as grain in Turkey and the world at the international conference GRAIN&MARITIME DAYS 2022 IN ISTANBUL that will be held on May 25.

Rosario grain exchange in October report forecasts wheat production in Argentina at 14.3 mln tonnes in 2023/24 MY, which is lower than the previous projection (15 mln tonnes), reports Reuters.

At the same time, Rosario’s analysts expect Argentina’s soybean production to reach 50 mln tonnes in a new season, compared to the previously expected 48 mln tonnes.

In November, the average value of the food price index, determined monthly by the UN Agriculture and Food Organization, was 120.4 points, which is almost the same as in October and 14.4 points (10.7%) lower than the corresponding figure in November 2022, it reported December 8, FAO press service.

The average value of the grain price index in November was 121 points, which is 3.7 points (3%) lower than the October figure and 29.1 points (19.4%) lower than last year’s record level. 
“World prices for feed grains decreased most significantly over the month – by 5.6%. This decline was primarily due to a sharp drop in world prices for corn against the backdrop of increased sales of farm products in Argentina and downward pressure exerted by a seasonal increase in supply in the United States, where the forecast production volume was revised upward,” experts noted. World wheat prices also decreased in November - by 2.4%, mainly as a result of a seasonal increase in supply in Argentina and Australia against the backdrop of a good pace of the harvesting campaign, as well as due to continued intense competition from the Russian Federation. “The average value of the vegetable oil price index in November was 124.1 points, an increase of 4.1 points (3.4%) compared to the October level, after three months of continuous decline. The increase in the value of this index was due to an increase in world prices for palm and sunflower oils, which more than compensated for the decrease in quotations of soybean and rapeseed oils,” the report says.

APK-Inform’s team continues preparations for the international conference Fat-and-Oil Industry–2021, which will be held on November 3 in Odessa (Premier Hotel Odessa).

Sandeep Bajoria, President of Sunvin Group, will be one of the key speakers at the event. He will provide the full analysis of Indian market of vegetable oils as well as pay a special attention to the key trade trends of the current season.

In September, India increased import of sunflower oil to the maximum over the last 4 months. It bought 180.6 thsd tonnes of the product that also surpassed 66.7 thsd tonnes imported in September 2020, data of Solvent Extractors' Association says. Ukraine was the main supplier of sunflower oil - 70.3 thsd tonnes, followed by Russia (60.1 thsd tonnes) and Argentina (50.1 thsd tonnes).

In January-September, Azerbaijan imported 744.2 thsd tonnes of wheat, up by 7.9% compared to the same period of 2021, reported the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, informed Интерфакс-Азербайджан. In the reporting period, the purchased volumes of wheat in monetary terms totaled 262.7 mln USD, up by 43.4% y/y. Besides, the imports of vegetable oils decreased by 1.8% to 92.22 thsd tonnes at the sum of 157.8 mln USD (up by 22.1%).

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, in its format until the summer of 2023, has exhausted itself and will not be renewed. This opinion was expressed by the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solskyy, reports Interfax-Ukraine.

“I have the feeling that in the format it was (grain initiative - ed.), it has ceased to exist. Already in the summer, it was felt that it was not interested in the world. Grain is becoming cheaper on the global market. In general, Turkey has a record – they are not interested in it,” he explained.

He also added that last year, parties interested in the grain initiative constantly called and were interested in the terms of his possible visit, and “now it is impossible to reach them.”

At the same time, M. Solskyy highly praised the work of the sea corridor, which works with the help of the Ukrainian military.

“The sea is working, it is very difficult for Russia to attack ships. In addition, from a military point of view, it is better to defend the ports of Great Odesa than the Danube. According to all Soviet canons, ports were built in such places, which predicted that they would be attacked sooner or later. They are protected 10 times more effectively than the water area of the Danube,” said the minister.

Speaking about the recent suspension of the sea corridor, which the military explained as the increased danger of attacks from the Russian side, M. Solskyy clarified that, in addition to this danger, there are risks for ships that increase during bad weather at sea, which may come into contact with mines.

In addition, according to him, although high waves do not create problems for the movement of cargo ships, the carrying capacity of which is about 40 thsd tonnes on average, they are an obstacle for military boats that accompany them and ensure the safety of movement along the sea corridor.

In August 2023, Ukraine exported 1.2 mln tonnes of wheat to foreign markets, which is 46% higher month-on-month and 36% y-o-y. This is reported by the APK-Inform Agency with reference to the data of operational export statistics. 

TOP-5 importers of the grain in August include Romania (31% of the total deliveries), Spain (24%), Egypt (17%), Italy (6%), and Greece (5%).

"The volume of deliveries to Egypt reached 204.3 thsd tonnes, which is the second monthly indicator since the beginning of the full-scale invasion (237.8 thsd tonnes in June 2023) and is 3.2 times higher compared to July 2023. Traditionally, Egypt is a key importer of Ukrainian wheat. But the volume of deliveries to this country has significantly decreased due to the blockade by Russia of Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea and Azov Sea," - noted in APK-Inform.

According to APK-Inform, in 2023/24 MY, wheat exports from Ukraine may reach 12.5 mln tonnes, which is 26% less than in the previous season. At the same time, the total harvest in 2023 is estimated at 20.6 mln tonnes, which almost corresponds to the indicator of the previous season (20.7 mln tonnes). However, the suspended grain agreement and constant shelling of the port infrastructure limit the possibilities of supplying both wheat and other agricultural products to foreign markets.

There is a stable sugar surplus in Ukraine, which will grow in the coming season. This was stated by the General Director of Ukrprominvest-Agro Roman Ogorodov, the company’s press service reports.

According to some estimates, next year the area under sugar beets in Ukraine will increase by 10-20%, and sugar production will increase to 2 million tons per year. Currently, Ukraine already produces about 1.8 million tons of sugar annually, while its domestic consumption is about 900 thousand tons,” he noted.

At the same time, despite the fact that due to the high price of sugar and the increasing attractiveness of this direction for agricultural producers in the EU, an increase in the area under sugar beets is predicted, a sugar deficit in the region will still remain.

     “Ukraine is actively exporting sugar to the EU and this will continue next season to cover the deficit in the markets of some European Union countries. In addition, Ukrainian sugar is also of interest to the world market, where, according to experts, the deficit balance of this product will increase. Therefore, even taking into account all the logistics and other difficulties caused by the war, the profitability of sugar production in Ukraine will have positive dynamics,” noted R. Ogorodov.

Amidst a modest flaxseed harvest, the majority of farmers in Kazakhstan are opting to hold off on selling, anticipating a potential surge in prices in the near future.

We should note that buyers are ready to purchase flaxseed at prices, as a rule, in the range of 185`000-190`000 tenge/t EXW.

As previously reported by APK-Inform, according to experts, a unique situation has developed in the current season on the global market of flaxseed – the demand for raw materials for processing in the current season far exceeds the level of supply. Evgeny Karabanov, the founder of "Severnoe Zerno" LLC, revealed at the international conference Asia Grains&Oils Conference: Results of 2023 in Almaty that flaxseed stocks in Kazakhstan are only about 30.000 tonnes.

Follow the further development of the situation on the Kazakhstan