By KYIV. Oct 25 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine ranks second in the world in the production of high-oleic sunflower after France, Director General of MAS Seeds Ukraine Serhiy Tymoshenko said at the XXI International Conference Fat&Oil Industry-2023.
High-oleic sunflower accounts for 7-10% of the total sown area of this crop in Ukraine. This segment is still considered niche, but has great prospects.
“In the pre-war years, at the peak, the sunflower sown area in Ukraine reached 6.5 million hectares. In this year, 5.3 million hectares were sown. The decrease is due to the war. The high-oleic segment is mainly 7-10% of the total area. It is still is considered a niche area, but some manufacturers no longer think so,” the APK-Inform analytical agency quoted his speech.
According to MAS Seeds Ukraine, in 2023, the sold high-oleic sunflower seeds will be enough to sow 420,000 hectares.
“How much high-oleic sunflower will be harvested from this area is a big question. Maybe 70%, or maybe 50% of the total amount [compared to the 2022 season], because some hybrids were simply high-yielding. There are there is a definite downward trend when compared with previous years, but this is not so bad, because we understand that this affects the overall price of high oleic oil,” the expert said.
According to his information, the global demand for high-oleic oil reaches 2 million tonnes, while its production is only 1.85 million tonnes. A shortage of this type of oil on the world market will be felt in November-December, which will lead to an increase in prices. Tymoshenko predicts maximum growth in premiums at the end of 2024 and explains that the main driver of increased demand for these products will be the HoReCa segment.
Tymoshenko advised farmers who doubt the advisability of growing high-oleic sunflower to be sure to sow it. “It’s better to sow. In the worst case, you can sell high-oleic sunflower as usual. The costs per hectare are the same, but if there is a premium, you will receive an additional margin. There are very high hopes that the premium will be very significant this year,” the expert concluded.
