Ukraine exported 6.6 million tons of vegetable oil by sea in in the 2019-2020 fiscal year (from September 2019 to August 2020), which is 300,000 tons more than the volume it exported in the previous fiscal year.
This is a new export record for Ukrainian vegetable oil, the CFTS reports, citing the Ukrainian Shipping Magazine.
According to the Stark Shipping company’s annual report on export of vegetable oil from Ukraine, vegetable oil accounted for 5% of all Ukrainian exports by sea (excluding container shipments) in the 2019-2020 fiscal year.
Most of the vegetable oil that was exported from Ukraine (5.7 million tons) was transported in tankers. An additional 933,000 tons of vegetable oil was transported in containers. According to the report, 27% of the container shipments went to China, 6% to the UAE, 5% to Jordan, and 4% to Malaysia.
Export of sunflower oil totaled 5.28 million tons or 92.8% of the total exports of vegetable oil (excluding container shipments) in the 2019/2020 fiscal year, breaking the record of 5.17 million tons that was set in the 2018-2019 fiscal year by 2.8%.
Export of high-oleic and refined sunflower oils also increased. Export of high-oleic sunflower oil increased by 30% to 265,600 tons in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, compared with the previous fiscal year. Member states of the European Union remained the main buyers of high-oleic oil from Ukraine. Ukraine also gained new sales markets for this type of oil in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, with the first tanker of the oil going to the United States. Shipments to the Chinese and Malaysian markets also resumed after a long break.
Export of refined sunflower oil quadrupled to 40,000 tons in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, compared with the previous fiscal year.
Export of other types of vegetable oils halved in the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Only 5,390 tons of corn oil was exported in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, compared with 9,670 tons in the previous fiscal year. The 68,000 tons of rapeseed oil that was exported in the 2019-2020 fiscal year is 48,400 tons less than the volume that was exported in the previous fiscal year. The volume of export of soybean oil in the 2019-2020 fiscal year (31,300 tons) is the lowest in five years and a 72% reduction compared with the previous fiscal year.
China was also the leading importer of Ukrainian rapeseed oil in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, when it imported 61,300 tons. However, this figure is 35% less than it imported in the previous fiscal year.
The top six exporters of sunflower oil from Ukraine remained unchanged in the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The six largest exporters accounted for almost 80% of the market.
The largest exporter of vegetable oil in the 2019-2020 fiscal year was the Kernel company, which shipped 1.47 million tons or 5% more than it shipped in the previous fiscal year. The second largest exporter was the COFCO company, which exported 944,230 tons of vegetable oil or 10% more than it exported in the previous fiscal year. The Bunge company was the third largest exporter for the fourth consecutive year. Bunge shipped 603,660 tons of vegetable oil, which is 12% less than last it shipped in the previous fiscal year.
The Vioil company was the fourth largest exporter of sunflower oil in the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The company’s export shipments were 18% less compared with the previous fiscal year despite increased production of high-oleic and bottled sunflower oil. The Engelhart company, which has curtailed its operations in Ukraine, reduced exports of sunflower oil almost five-fold.
The top three importers of Ukrainian sunflower oil remain unchanged from the previous fiscal year.
India remained the largest importer of Ukrainian sunflower oil in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, accounting for 33.1% of total exports from Ukraine. However, Indian imports from Ukraine reduced by 16% in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, compared with the previous fiscal year, because of serious competition from Russian sunflower oil on the Indian market.
China increased import of Ukrainian vegetable oil by 11% in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, compared with the previous fiscal year. Ukrainian vegetable oil also encountered sufficiently significant competition from Russian vegetable oil on the Chinese market.
The increase of sunflower oil exports to European countries continued in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, accounting to 32% of the total number of shipments. Exports to Spain increased by 23%, Italy by 10%, and France by 100%. Exports to Britain reduced by 15%, Portugal by 61%, and Greece by 9%.
Turkey increased imports of Ukrainian sunflower oil by 85% in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, compared with the previous fiscal year. The United States imported 23,570 tons of oil from Ukraine to become the 11th largest importer. Sudan increased imports of sunflower oil from Ukraine 4.5-fold to 61,850 tons to rise from the 23rd to the 12th largest importer.
