By KYIV. Dec 12 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Interruptions in power supply impede the operation of Ukrainian industrial enterprises, oil extraction plants and port infrastructure, as a result of which oilseeds are sent for export, and not for processing within the country.
As reported on the website of the electronic grain exchange GrainTrade, in the first ten days of December, the export of oilseeds and sunflower oil from Ukraine slowed down, while the export of sunflower meal increased sharply – in December 1-8, some 159,000 tonnes of sunflower meal were exported, of which more than 70% (112,400 tonnes) was shipped to China.
In total, in the current marketing year (MY, September-August), 1.2 million tonnes of meal of all kinds have already been exported. The active export of meal amid the shutdown of Ukrainian oil refineries led to an increase in domestic prices, but demand prices from the EU are starting to decline again.
According to GrainTrade, over December 1-7, Ukraine exported 55,300 tonnes of sunflower oil, of which 19,500 tonnes to Romania and 9,300 tonnes to Bulgaria. At the same time, it is noted that the export of oil through the ports is very slow, since the main oil-loading terminals in Mykolaiv suffered from missile attacks by Russians, and almost all oil refineries on the Black Sea coast do not work.
In addition, during the specified period, Ukraine delivered 74,800 tonnes of sunflower abroad, of which 26,900 tonnes were shipped to Bulgaria, and 19,600 tonnes to Romania. At the same time, the sunflower harvest this year will not exceed 10 million tonnes, so in the case of active exports, competition for volumes between processors and exporters will increase significantly in the second half of the season.
In turn, soybean supplies to other countries for December 1-7 amounted to 58,500 tonnes, of which 51% (29,900 tonnes) were shipped to Turkey through the Danube ports. Soybean production in Ukraine this season will amount to 3.6 million tonnes, of which about 1 million tonnes are planned to be processed within the country.
Export of rapeseed for the specified period amounted to 38,900 tonnes, of which 12,000 tonnes were shipped to Poland and 13,000 tonnes to Romania. At the same time, it is specified that the export potential of domestic rapeseed in the current season has almost been exhausted.
GrainTrade noted that since the beginning of the 2022/2023 marketing year (MY, July-June), Ukraine has exported 1.5 million tonnes of sunflower oil, 1.2 million tonnes of meal, 962,000 tonnes of sunflower, 907,700 tonnes of soybeans and 2.9 million tonnes of rapeseed.
