Russia steps up sunflower oil exports to China as war disrupts India trade

MUMBAI: Russia is poised to nearly double its sunflower oil exports to China during the upcoming marketing year, offering the product at reduced prices, according to Kyrylo Tyshkevych, head of trading at Sodrugestvo Group, a prominent Russian producer. This surge in exports is being driven by the damage to Russia's port infrastructure caused by the ongoing war, which has impeded shipments to India, a major importer of Russian sunflower oil.

Kyrylo noted that while demand from India remains robust, the country's imports of sunflower oil are expected to decline from 1.5 million tons to 1.1 million tons this year, due to the challenges in transporting the product via sea routes. Instead, Russian exporters are exploring land-based transportation to China, where they anticipate a significant increase in purchases, reaching up to 1 million metric tons.

Russia aims to increase its sunflower seed production to 20 million tons this year, up from 17.5 million tons in the previous year. However, the decline in exports to India is anticipated to limit crushing activities, resulting in a stockpile of 3 million tons of seeds at the beginning of the next marketing year. Sunflower oil, a key competitor to palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as soyoil from South America, faces similar shipping issues in Ukraine, which has also been grappling with infrastructure challenges due to Russian attacks.

Ukrainian sunflower oil exporters have reported a significant decrease in crushing operations, halving from the usual 600,000 tons per month between October and March, as mills struggle to export the oil effectively.