Key Takeaways:

Sunflower oil is a major global vegetable oil despite its relatively limited presence in the United States, with sunflowerseed containing substantially more oil than soybeans. Russia and Ukraine sit at the center of the global sunflower oil market, together accounting for 57 percent of sunflower oil production over the past five years and an even larger share of sunflower oil exports. The Black Sea region’s dominance begins with favorable growing conditions, as warm summers, abundant sunlight and fertile chernozem soils provide an ideal environment for sunflower production. An established crushing industry allows Russia and Ukraine to process large volumes of sunflowerseed domestically into higher-value oil and meal ra...