Ukrainian oil and fat industry companies expect sunflower oil exports to decline by 6.4% in the 2025/26 marketing year—to 4.4 million tons from 4.7 million tons the previous season, according to the UkroliyaProm association.
According to the association’s estimates, sunflower oil production this season will also decline by 10%—to 4.6 million tons, down from 5.1 million tons in the previous marketing year.
The association explained that the decline in the sunflower segment is linked to the lowest sunflower yield in the past 10 years, which fell by 16.8%, as well as a 7.8% reduction in harvested acreage.
At the same time, despite the decrease in physical shipment volumes, foreign exchange revenue from sunflower oil exports is growing thanks to higher global prices.
According to data from the National Scientific Center “Institute of Agricultural Economics,” the profitability of sunflowers in 2025 stood at 54.7%, which remains one of the highest indicators among agricultural crops and is second only to rye at 56.4%.
Ukroliyaprom emphasized that additional pressure on the industry is being exerted by energy capacity constraints due to shelling of critical infrastructure, threats to the operation of deep-water ports, and attacks on the railway network, which is vital for exports to EU countries.
