The prices of the main vegetable oils have continued to fall, albeit moderately, in recent weeks. Gas, on the other hand, has undergone a significant price correction.
The table below shows the evolution of some oils and other relevant factors in the last month:
Lauric oils –coconut and palm kernel– have been attractively priced for several months, reflected in a very significant cumulative drop from the highs of early 2022.
The relaxation of Covid-19 measures has reduced the requirements for lauric oils as a raw material for hygiene and cleaning products, which has put downward pressure on prices. Palm kernel stocks have already declined in Indonesia in recent months and, in Malaysia, a decline from the recent 2-year high is expected soon.
On the other hand, Philippine exports of coconut oil declined to only 170 kton in Nov/Jan 2022/2023 according to UCAP, down from 305 kton reported a year earlier. Excessive rains affected harvesting and transportation. Trading activity in Europe focused on the attractive PKO price in recent weeks, partly at the expense of coconut demand.
In sunflower, production in Ukraine was better than expected: 10.9 MnT of pip. Milling capacity has fallen as power outages slow production. Pipe milling is likely to decline by 30%/40% on the year. High seed exports also significantly affect the market. In September/January, Ukraine exported almost 1.4 MnT of sunflower seeds, which is a record for this period.
The most important news is the continuity of seed and oil exports from Ukraine, which depends on factors other than market dynamics.
In rapeseed, the planted area in Europe is expected to be close to 6 Mn ha, compared to 5.85 Mn ha in 2022 and the average of 5.4 Mn ha; in Canada there would also be a marginal increase. The International Grains Council (IGC) forecasts that the global rapeseed planted area is 1.5% below the current season’s record area and would be the second largest rapeseed area on record.
To learn more about the market situation, we invite you to read the LIPSA market report (the download button above), where you will find:
1. Vegetable oil prices
2. Demand: China and India
3. Palm oil
4. Soybean oil
5. Sunflower oil
6. Rapeseed oil
6. Lauric oils