Russia's cheaper sunflower oil pushes Ukraine out of markets, farmers' union says
Russia has become the world's biggest sunflower oil exporter, pushing Ukraine out of key markets by offering oil $10-$15 per ton cheaper, according to Ukraine's biggest farmers' union. Ukrainian shipments have slowed significantly due to price competition and increased logistics costs following Russian attacks on Black Sea ports.
Russian oil is $10 to $15 per metric ton cheaper, UAC says Ukraine exported 146,000 tons of sunflower oil in September, UAC says Export logistics costs rose by at least $50 per ton after Black Sea port attacks By Pavel Polityuk KYIV, Oct 7 (Reuters) — Russia, currently the world's biggest sunflower oil exporter, is pushing Ukraine out of core markets by undercutting it on price and leading to a slowdown in Ukrainian shipments, Ukraine's biggest farmers' union said on Wednesday. Before the war with Russia, Ukraine was the largest exporter of sunflower oil, dominating markets in Southeast Asia and Europe. 6 million tons in 2022/23.
But Ukraine's shipments as the 2026/27 export season begins are much slower than a year ago. "The problem is very low sales volumes, especially for October. Even under the current (logistics) constraints, exports could reach up to 330,000 tons (this month)," the UAC farmers' union said. It said Ukrainian sunoil exports totalled 146,000 tons in September and only 18,300 tons in October 1-5.
Ukraine exported 167,000 tons of sunoil in September 2025 and 366,000 tons in October 2025. 3 million tons, APK-Inform consultancy forecasts. 7 million. Russia's Tough Competition Is Compounded By Logistics While Ukraine's domestic market will have surplus supplies, some of its biggest traditional buyers, including India, Egypt and Turkey, have already received the Russian sunoil they need, the UAC said.
"Russia has captured many of Ukraine's core markets, and its oil is $10-$15 per ton cheaper," UAC said in a weekly report. "Perhaps the situation will change closer to December, and Europe will enter the procurement market," the UAC said further. Competition from cheaper Russian oil is compounded by the increased cost and difficulty of exports and rising military risks, analysts said. While Russia has suffered some damage, it has managed to maintain export capacity.
Ukraine has been far more affected as Russian attacks blocked Black Sea ports used for exports, logistics costs rose by at least $50 per ton from the end of July and delivery times lengthened, further undermining the competitiveness of Ukrainian products. One of Ukraine's major sunoil export terminals was seriously damaged during a Russian drone strike this week. Shippers say that after a significant share of cargo was rerouted from seaports to Danube river ports, the delivery time for food products more than doubled for shipping to the Egyptian market, reaching 30 days in August-September. com)