Russia sets new record for sunflower oil exports in 2024 at more than 5.7 mln tonnes - Agroexport

MOSCOW. Jan 15 (Interfax) - Russia increased its sunflower oil exports 31% in 2024 to over 5.7 million tonnes, according to preliminary data from the Agroexport Center.

"For the first time in history, the annual export volume exceeded the 5 million tonne mark," the center said.

Exports in 2024 not only set a new record, surpassing the 2023 level, but exceeded it by more than 1 million tonnes, Oil and Fat Union Executive Director Mikhail Maltsev was cited by Agroexport as saying.

Exports to India drove growth. Supplies to this country increased 2.4-fold to over 2.2 million tonnes. Thanks to this dynamic, India, which became the leading buyer of Russian sunflower oil in 2023, further solidified its position last year, accounting for around 39% of all shipments. The largest amount was recorded in October, when more than 320,000 tonnes of sunflower oil were shipped there - over half of Russia's total exports that month.

Turkey ranked second among buyers. According to preliminary data, exports to this country grew 1.5-fold to 840,000 tonnes.

The growth in exports was made possible not only by processing larger volumes of raw materials but also due to relatively attractive global prices for sunflower oil and a small price spread compared to palm and soybean oil, Maltsev said. "Under these conditions, buyers such as India and Turkey chose the more nutritionally valuable sunflower oil, significantly increasing their purchases," he said.

China fell from second to third place among importers of Russian sunflower oil in 2024. Market experts estimate that last year China imported 590,000 tonnes of sunflower oil from Russia, down 35% from 2023. "The decline in exports to China in 2024 was due to the more favorable purchase prices offered by Indian suppliers, as well as significant volumes of corn processed into oil within the Chinese domestic market. These factors reduced demand for sunflower oil in China," Maltsev said.

According to his forecast, sunflower oil exports could reach around 6 million tonnes by 2030.