Prolonged rains in Ukraine delay harvest and cause sunseed prices to rise

poor crop quality and a risk of yield loss. As of October 2, only 58.7% of the sunflower area in Ukraine had been threshed – 5.5 million tons with an average yield of 1.83 tons/ha, while last year on this date 8 million tons (79% of the area) were harvested with a yield of 2.05 tons/ha. Due to excess moisture in the west of the country, an increase in the acid number in sunflower seeds harvested after the rains is being recorded – up to 4–8%, which is prompting processors to more actively buy up already harvested batches. Over the week, sunseed demand prices in Ukraine increased by 500–1,000 UAH/t, to 27,500–28,000 UAH/t or $580–600/t excluding VAT (for 50% oil content) with delivery to the factory. Amid delays in deliveries and concerns about a reduced harvest, sunflower oil prices continue to rise, by $10–20/t, to $1,200–1,210/t for delivery to ports in October. For comparison, Russian oil is holding at $1,170–1,180/t FOB. Sunflower oil quotes for delivery to India have ...