While Ukrainian farmers are expected to plant more oilseeds, with the exception of sunflowers, lower yields could dampen production volumes in 2024-25.
According to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture, the soybean production area is estimated at 2.1 million hectares, an 18% increase, and the rapeseed area is estimated at 1.5 million hectares, a 7% increase. The sunflower seeds production area is about the same, at 5 million hectares.
Sunflower seed production is estimated at 11.5 million tonnes, a decrease of 4% from 2023-24. Soybean production is estimated at 5.1 million tonnes, a 7% increase, and rapeseed at 4 million tonnes, similar to last season.
Ukraine is a major exporter of bulk agricultural commodities and depends on access to ports and sea routes, all of which have suffered since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
The FAS said that most export bandwidth is dedicated to grains, and oilseed exports fluctuate based on available export capacity.
The FAS said overall oilseed exports are expected to grow in 2024-25 due to larger soybean and rapeseed shipments. Exports are estimated at 300,000 tonnes for sunflower seed, similar to last year, 2.9 million tonnes for soybeans, a 7% increase, and 3.6 million tonnes for rapeseed, an increase of 22%. The EU is expected to be the largest market for oilseeds. Some of these exports will continue to non-EU destinations.