UCAB in media
09.01.2014
Sunflower seed market stabilized by national enterprises - Ukrainian Agribusiness Club
In September-November of 2013/2014 marketing year, sunflower seed export from Ukraine reduced by 80.1% or by 47,100 tonnes against the same period of 2012/2013 marketing year and made up only 11,700 tonnes. On the backdrop of the forecasted record-making gross yield of this crop at 10-10.6 million tonnes, the export rates appeared to be rather slow.
The main counteragents in sunflower seed exports are Turkey, the Russian Federation and the European Union, the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club informs.
“A delay with gathering sunflower seeds, due to negative weather conditions of September, led to actual full impossibility of realization of crop exports at the beginning of the marketing year and reduction in the number of export-quality seeds,” a statement reads.
The purchasing companies complained about high supply of seeds with an increased humidity index. Also, a hampering reason for exports was a negative price trend on the international sunflower seed market, caused by the fall of prices for sunflower seed oil, following palm oil. The Ukrainian market was not subject to such price fluctuations as international, thanks to support that came from processing industries in the form of demand for the seeds at higher prices, that in turn is determined by an excess of processing capacities in Ukraine (about 13-13.5 million tonnes) against the sunflower seed yield. In other words, deficit of sunflower seeds on the internal market makes its sale to Ukrainian processing enterprises more attractive than its exports, the experts note.
