Browse Data and Analysis

After two consecutive years of short olive oil production, MY 2024/25 olive oil output in the EU is expected to revert to average levels on good flowering conditions and a mild summer. Fall precipitation will be critical to final production volumes.

Soybeans from the United States are once again eligible to enter South Africa. After a mid-summer drought that caused a 35 percent drop in production, South Africa needs to import soybeans to supplement domestic production and maintain crushing demand.

Côte d’Ivoire ranks as Africa’s second largest producer of crude palm oil (CPO); trailing just behind Nigeria’s production, it is a pivotal player in the sub-Saharan regional market.

Sunflowerseed production in marketing year (MY) 2024/25 is forecast to drop to its lowest level in almost a decade due to extremely dry weather conditions in the northeast part of the country, where more than half of the production is concentrated.

FAS/Sofia estimates a reduction in Bulgarian oilseeds crops in marketing year (MY) 2024/25 due to extremely hot and dry weather conditions in July and August. FAS/Sofia estimates the rapeseed crop at 190,000 metric tons (MT), down nine percent from last year and 36 percent from two years ago.

Ukraine introduced procedures for the approval of minimum export prices for selected bulk commodities, including grains, oilseeds, vegetable oils and meals, walnuts, and honey.

While the United States holds a 5-year average of less than 1 percent market share ($20.7 million in 2023 exports), Senegal has a growing food manufacturing industry that seeks cost-competitive ingredients and is expanding its exports to neighboring countries.

Côte d'Ivoire is one of the leading producers of palm oil in Africa, with annual production exceeding 500,000 metric tons since 2018. The country consumes over 75% of its palm oil production domestically, with palm oil being a staple for 90% of the population. The high domestic demand for palm oil outstrips supply, creating intense competition for fresh fruit bunches (FFB).

In early August, Turkiye announced that it will open a lower-duty quota for 1.0 million metric tons of sunflower seed or crude sunflower oil equivalent, starting from January-April of next year.

As of June 1, 2024, Turkiye’s Ministry of Trade has relaxed the ban on the export of bulk and barreled olive oil, allowing up to 50,000 tons of bulk and barreled olive oil to be exported until November 1, 2024. This decision, in response to negative sentiment from domestic industry, is expected to have a positive, though limited, impact on global olive oil prices.

FAS/Sofia expects a lower Bulgarian rapeseed crop in marketing year (MY) 2024/25, falling by four percent from last year to about 200,000 metric tons (MT), due to a combination of reduced harvested area and unfavorable weather.

Fresh fruit bunch (FBB) and kernel yields are expected to remain high in MY2024/25 due to stabilized fertilizer prices and a good weather forecast. In response to the growing domestic and export demands, MY2024/25 soybean production forecast has been raised by 16 percent over the preceding year’s estimate.