(Sunflower Oil and it’s Fractions, Whether or Not Refined But Not Chemically Modified, Excluding Crude)

The consumption of sunflower oil is growing at a very fast pace all around the world. The sunflower oil market is anticipated to grow at a cumulative annual growth rate of 5.3% between 2021 to 2026, even after the industry has been affected negatively by the emergence of COVID-19 and also due to the impacts of “lockdowns.”

Maybe it is, for this reason, experts and analysts could conveniently stress the fact that consumption of sunflower oil exceeds its production. If we have to validate this claim, we must factor in the pre-COVID-19 era and pay close attention to the market trends. However, even before the emergence of COVID-19, the demand for sunflower oil has only known one way, and that is up.

Other factors like the weather conditions have affected crop yield, which may explain the limited supply. Also, looking at the demand side, the world’s population has been growing at an arithmetic rate whereas total oil consumption is growing at a geometric rate. Between 2001 and 2021, the world’s population has increased by 25% and oil consumption by 209%. If we have to measure in tonnage, the total oil consumption is growing at 105 MT / Year. A 22% can be attributed to population growth, 42% for biodiesel research and development, and 36% to the changes in dietary habits and non-food related purposes which may be in the cosmetics and pharma industry (1).

The health benefits as a contributing factor to the global demand for sunflower oil.

It is believed that one of the main causes of the recent demand for sunflower oil is the health benefits of the oil. As a shift towards organic and natural foods is the norm today, vegetable oils have been well accepted and welcome in many homes.

After having a closer look into the demand trends, it was realized the sunflower oil high in oleic acid originated from hybrid sunflower seeds witnessed the most demand and the go to sunflower oil for many (2). One of the major take away for sunflower oil high in oleic acid is its high stability and resistance to rancidity as a result of high natural tocopherol content and low level of polyunsaturated fatty acids (3).

Besides, oleic acid is well known for a variety of health benefits which may include the reduction of high cholesterol levels and its ability to fight against heart disease (4) (5). Also, it is also known to increase the good cholesterol (HDL) levels in the body as it is considered a monosaturated fat.

Another important health benefit of sunflower oil is its high source of vitamin E. As we all know, natural sources of vitamin E will always beat vitamin E obtained from supplements. Vitamin E is known to have benefits for our brain and nerve health. Most importantly it fights the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (6). Vitamin E is well known to promote healthy skin.

Sunflower oil can also help to boost enegergy, boost the immune system, helps in digestion and promote a healthier and beautiful hair.

The Export of Sunflower Oil Globally

Experts have been able to predict the growth of sunflower exports and it is said to go up by 14% with an export quantity of about 12.6 million tons by 2022 (7).

The value of exported sunflower oil as of 2020 is about $4.334 trillion USD with a trade balance of $32.165 million USD. The annual growth in value between the time periods of 2016 to 2020 is at 6% with annual growth in quantity exported at 13% for the same time period. Also, the annual growth in value between 2019 to 2020 is at 20%.

High demand for sunflower is seen in the European Union and the Asia Pacific which is the fastest growing market for sunflower oil after the EU. The Asia pacific controlled a market share of 30% for the global consumption of Sunflower oil. This can be partly due to the fact that many manufacturing companies in the cosmetic and food industry are moving their production facilities to Asia.

Which country is the largest exporter of sunflower oil?

Russia is the largest exporter of sunflower oil as of 2020 with a market share of 15.1% which is a 2.1% change compared to the year 2019 where Russia controlled 13% of the global market share. As of 2019, Ukraine was leading the global exportation of sunflower oil, controlling 13.1% market share but as of 2020, Ukraine is at the third position after Russia and Turkey respectively.

The top 10 exporters of sunflower oil as of 2020

The list below is for Exporters for the product: Sunflower-seed or safflower oil and their fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified (excluding crude and chemically modified).

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Russian Federation

The Russian Federation is the top exporter of sunflower oil in the world as of 2020. This has been achieved as Ukraine which was the top exporter as of 2019 has dropped to the third position. Over 712 thousand tons of sunflower oil were exported by the Russian Federation with an export value of about $652.6 million USD. A 130,925 tons and a $181.9 million export value increase respectively as of 2019. The Russian Federation currently holds a 15.1% share in world exports of sunflower oil compared to a 13% share in 2019.

Turkey

The second position is Turkey, coming up from the third position as of 2019. Turkey currently holds a 14.7% share of world export, a 3.2% share increase compared to the year 2019. Over $608.7 million USD was reported as the total export value for Turkey and for the export of 643,503 tons of sunflower oil. A 206,1298 tons increase in quantity exported and a $220.4 million USD increase in sunflower export value compared to 2019. 

Ukraine

In third place is Ukraine, the previous top global exporter as of 2019. Ukraine exports over 653 thousand tons of sunflower oil as of 2020 with an export value of $616.4 million USD. In 2019, Ukraine exported over 562,889 tons with a market export value of $475.2 million USD. This indicates a 90,926 tons and a $141.1 million USD increase as of 2020. Ukraine currently holds a 14.2% global market share, a 1.1% share increase as of 2020.

France

France is at the fourth position, a step up from the fifth spot as of 2019, with a market share of 6.4%, indicating a 0.5% market share drop from its 6.9% of 2019. France exported a total of 244,268 tons with an export market value of $278.5 million USD. This indicates a 2,936 tons and a $27.6 million USD export value increase compared to the year 2019.

Hungary

At the fifth position is Hungary with a previous position at the fourth place. Hungary holds a 6.2% in global market share of sunflower export as of 2020, indicating a 1.3% drop compared to the year 2019. As of 2020, Hungary exports about 277,098 tons of sunflower oil to the world with a market value of over $267.2 million USD. In the year 2020, Hungary experienced a 18,238 tons drop in global export of sunflower oil. Also a $4.3 million fall in overall export market value for sunflower oil as of 2020.

Netherlands

The Netherlands is at 6th position a rise from the 7th spot as of 2019. The Netherlands, as of 2020 exported 236,028 tons of sunflower oil, a 60,372 tons increase compared to the previous year (2019). The market value for the tons of sunflower oil exported by the Netherlands, as of 2020 was at about $236.9 million USD which indicates a $70.5 million USD in market value. As of 2020, the Netherlands controls a 5.5% global market share for sunflower oil export, indicating a 0.9% increase from the previous year of 2019.

Spain

Spain maintains its position as the 7th top global exporter of sunflower oil with a market share of 4.8%, indicating a 0.2% increase from the previous year of 2019, with an export value of over $206 million USD. This indicates a $19.1 million USD increase in market value in the year 2020.

Germany

Germany comes in at the 8th position, a fall from the 6th spot as of 2019. Germany, as of 2020, controls a market share of 4.6% which marks a 0.6% fall in market share as of 2020. Germany witnessed a $200.1 million USD export market value and exported over 178 thousand tons of sunflower oil. A $9.2 million USD increase in market value but a 1,189 tons fall in the quantity exported compared to the year of 2019 respectively.

Belgium

Belgium maintains the 9th position as was the case in 2019, with a market share of 3.9% and an export value of $168.7 million USD for the export of over 140,549 tons of sunflower oil. Looking at the previous year (2019), Belgium exported over 126,745 tons with a market value of $141.9 million USD. In comparison with the previous year, there was an increase of 13,804 tons exported and a $26.7 million USD increase in market value as of 2020.

Argentina

Argentina maintains the 10th position with a market share of 2.5% and an export value of $106.8 million USD for the export of over 100,622 tons of sunflower oil. For the previous year (2019), Argentina exported over 106,143 tons with a market value of $106.1 million USD. In comparison with the previous year, there was a decrease of 5,521 tons exported and a $717 thousand USD increase in market value as of 2020.

Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and France control over 50.4% market share of the global sunflower export. All the above mentioned countries export over 2.2 million tons of sunflower oil to the world with a market value of over 2.1 trillion USD as of 2020.