Ukraine is increasing sugar exports and reducing oil exports. What are the reasons
12 March 11:56
During the first six months of the 2024-2025 marketing year, i.e. from September 2024 to February 2025, Ukraine exported more than 403.5 thousand tons of sugar. This was reported by the Parliamentary Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy with reference to the data of the National Association of Sugar Producers of Ukraine “Ukrtsukor”, according to
It is noted that the vast majority of this volume – 98.4% – was directed to the world market and only 1.6% of exports went to the EU countries.
In February, the export of Ukrainian sugar to the EU recovered and amounted to 6559 tons. The main importing countries were Bulgaria, which received 72% of this volume, as well as Greece and Italy, which received 12% each.
This revival in the European direction occurred after Ukrainian producers gained easier access to the EU market as of January 1, 2025, thanks to new trade liberalization agreements.
The main destinations for Ukrainian sugar exports in the first six months of the marketing year were Turkey, which received 18% of total exports, as well as Libya, North Macedonia, Somalia, and Sri Lanka.
Ukrainian oil exports fell to almost a ten-year low
In 2024/25 marketing year (as of March 1), Ukraine reduced the exports of sunflower oil by 24% to 2.4 mln tonnes compared to the same period last season, which was the lowest figure for this period since 2016/17 marketing year. This is reported by the specialized publication GrainTrade.
The EU countries remained the main buyers of Ukrainian oil, accounting for 54% of total exports. For the first time in the last three seasons, India became the leader among importers of domestic sunflower oil, having purchased 417 thousand tons, which is five times higher than the same period last season.
In February, the export of sunflower oil decreased by 14% compared to January to 325 thousand tons, which is the lowest figure for this month in the last 10 years.
Overall, oil exports remain weak, as Ukrainian processors are unable to secure stocks of raw materials for stable operation for several months, leading to a drop in processing margins to zero or even negative values amid sharp price fluctuations.
Oil producers reported a shortage of raw materials
One of Kernel’s plants was shut down in January 2025 due to a shortage of raw materials on the Ukrainian market.
As noted in the company’s report for the second quarter of the fiscal year, “due to the limited supply of sunflower seeds on the market, three Kernel plants processed other oilseeds, including 93 thousand tons of soybeans and 14 thousand tons of rapeseed, and in January 2025, one of the plants was forced to stop working due to a shortage of raw materials.”
