Purchase prices for sunflower seeds in Ukraine rose by 500 UAH/ton over the week and currently stand at 31,000–32,000 UAH/ton (or $620–640 per ton excluding VAT for 50% oil content) delivered to the plant, according to the Ukrainian Electronic Grain Exchange.
Analysts noted that the positive trend is driven by a $5 per ton increase in the price of Ukrainian sunflower oil—to $1,295–1,305 (delivery to Black Sea ports)—amid rising demand from the biofuel industry.
At the same time, oil is a global growth driver, with prices exceeding $100 per barrel following U.S. President Donald Trump’s televised address. The promise to end the war with Iran within two to three weeks failed to meet analysts’ expectations of an immediate cessation of attacks and a shift to negotiations, keeping energy prices at high levels.
“Processors continue to actively build up sunflower seed stocks amid increased sales by farmers, hoping for further growth in sunflower oil prices following other vegetable oils in the near future. At the same time, demand for meal has not yet increased, as feed grain prices remain stable at low levels, and South America is increasing its supply of soybean meal,” exchange experts said.
According to experts, due to low processing rates in the first half of the season, as of March 1, sunflower stocks in Ukraine stood at 3.5 million tons, which is 1.4% higher than last year’s figure. This will allow for an increase in production rates, full utilization of plant capacity before the start of the rapeseed season in July, and taking advantage of favorable global market conditions.
At the same time, competition from South America is expected to intensify in April, as buyers actively shift their focus to the new harvest. As of March 27, Argentina had already harvested 61% of its sunflower acreage and is increasing exports to the EU. In Brazil, 75% of the soybean acreage has been harvested (compared to 82% last year), and the export forecast for March stands at 16 million tons, compared to 10.7 million tons in February.
According to the Ukroliyaprom association, sunflower oil production in Ukraine for the 2025/2026 marketing year is projected at 4.6 million tons, which is 10% less than the previous season’s figure. Exports may decline by 6.4% to 4.4 million tons amid the lowest sunflower yield in the last 10 years. At the same time, foreign exchange earnings from exports are rising due to favorable global prices.
Sunflower prices in Ukraine rose by 500 UAH per week
