Ukrainian oil refineries faced a shortage of raw materials due to record sunflower prices

The Ukrainian sunflower market is in a state of shortage, which causes a rapid increase in prices. As a result of a significant decrease in the production of oil crops compared to last year, processing enterprises found themselves in a difficult situation due to the lack of raw materials for processing.

As the press service of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council reports, referring to the analysis of the PUSK agricultural cooperative, the price of sunflower has already exceeded 23,000 hryvnias per ton. According to forecasts, by the end of October, the price may increase to 24,000-24,500 hryvnias per ton, which is due to seasonal market fluctuations.

Analysts explain that the key reason is the growing demand for sunflower oil in conditions of limited supply of raw materials. However, unlike previous years, this season the processing plants were unable to accumulate sufficient sunflower stocks for uninterrupted operation.

"The majority of oil companies work in the mode "from wheels", that is, they buy sunflower and immediately send it for processing. If earlier enterprises had stocks for October-November, now many of them cannot provide for themselves even for the current month," experts note.

This leads to increased competition between factories for raw materials, which further increases prices. The fight for each ton of sunflower is getting tougher, as companies try to provide themselves with the necessary volumes.

Given the current market trends, analysts expect sunflower prices to continue to rise and may surpass the all-time highs set in 2020 in the coming months. Therefore, the situation on the market of oil crops remains tense and unpredictable.