Main points
- Ukraine remains the main supplier of sunflower oil to the EU, occupying almost 92% of the market, despite a decrease in export volumes.
- Ukraine's sunflower seed harvest has declined, and logistics have been complicated by attacks on port infrastructure, limiting export potential.
Ukraine supplies oil to the EU / Photo Freepik
Ukraine remains the main supplier of sunflower oil to the European Union. Despite a reduced harvest and difficult logistics, the share of Ukrainian products in this market is almost 92%.
Ukrainian oil flooded the European Union market
Ukraine has retained its position as the largest supplier of sunflower oil to the European Union, the German Union for the Promotion of Plant and Protein Development (UFOP) reported, citing data from the European Commission, OFI reports.
According to the European Commission, from July 2025 to February 2026, the EU-27 countries imported about 1.04 million tons of sunflower oil. This is less than in the same period of the previous year, when imports amounted to 1.28 million tons.
Of this volume, Ukraine supplied about 0.95 million tons of products to the European market. According to analysts from Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft, this provided the country with almost 92 percent of the market. At the same time, the figures are lower than last year, when about 1.2 million tons were exported to the EU.
Ukrainian producers under pressure from competition and crop failure
According to the report, Ukraine's sunflower seed harvest has declined from 13 million tons in 2024 to approximately 10.5 million tons in 2025. The lower volume of raw materials has led to reduced processing and limited the export potential of sunflower oil.
Additional pressure on logistics has been created by Russian attacks on port infrastructure. At the same time, market reports indicate that export flows are gradually stabilizing.
The second and third largest suppliers of sunflower oil to the EU were Moldova and Serbia, with a market share of around 5 percent and just under 2 percent, respectively.
At the same time, supplies from Moldova increased year-on-year, while exports from Serbia remained significantly lower than the previous year.
Processors are reducing purchase prices for sunflower: why is this happening?
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Sunflower prices in Ukraine have decreased due to weak dynamics in the sunflower oil export market, with purchase prices dropping to 29–30 thousand hryvnias per ton.
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In February, Ukraine exported 327.9 thousand tons of sunflower oil, with the largest buyers being the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and France, and oilcake exports to China accounted for over 75% of the total volume.