Prices for sunflower oil continue to rise due to high demand: analysis of prices and market trends for oils.

In April, export prices for sunflower oil strengthened, prices on a FOB Black Sea ports basis rose by about 5%, reaching $825 per ton. In the first half of April, transaction prices were even higher due to expensive oil and high demand from India and China, although demand later eased slightly due to active contracting in earlier periods.

Compared to soybean and palm oil prices, sunflower oil prices showed a good dynamics. Soybean and palm oil prices on the physical market were declining due to expectations of a high soybean yield in South America and moderate demand for palm oil, as demand for sunflower oil was more significant.

As for rapeseed oil, the situation is different, as there is an expected decline in the new rapeseed crop in Canada and the European Union countries.

In the domestic market, there is a trend of rising prices reflecting export quotations. Unrefined oil prices in Central Russia remain at the highest level since the beginning of the year - 72.6 thousand rubles/ton. At the same time, some transactions were even made at even higher prices.

In May, the export duty on sunflower oil from Russia remains at zero, and on sunflower meal it decreased by 29.8% to 2389.6 rubles per ton. Indicative prices for oil are $766.7 per ton ($768.6 a month ago), and for meal - $205.9 ($224.7).

The FAO vegetable oil price index in April reached its highest level in the last 13 months at 130.9 points, which is 0.3 points higher than in March. Price growth is due to the increase in sunflower and rapeseed oil quotations while prices for palm and soybean oils are falling.

The decrease in global palm oil prices is due to increased production in leading producing countries and low import demand. Global soybean oil prices have fallen due to expected high supply in South America, while sunflower and rapeseed oil prices continue to rise due to active import purchases and concerns about weather conditions for winter rapeseed sowings in Europe.