Dipasa Europe market screening 05-04-2022

Dipasa Europe’s market review with information about some major seed, kernel & vegetable oil markets. Do not hesitate to contact us via sales@dipasa.nl for any additional questions or quotations.

Sesame seeds

The crop in South America has been affected because of severe draught in January 2022. Most processors in South America are not able to offer new crop just yet. We expect new crop prices from South America will come in mid/end of April this year. India is offering above USD 2,000/t for natural sesame seeds at the moment.

African crop: from Nigeria we hear levels above USD 2,000/t for natural sesame seeds and from Ethiopia regrettably nothing is coming at this moment because of the war in Tigray.

The availability of organic sesame seeds is critical, especially because of the strict European import requirements. There are still possibilities but the expected organic sesame seed crop size suitable for the European market will be less for 2022.

Pumpkin kernels

The market for pumpkin seeds in China is volatile at the moment. Shine Skin pumpkin seeds (conventional) are showing a slight down trend. There is still a big position of raw materials shine skin in China but a low foreign demand. The domestic demand is also decreasing for the time being, were normally in February the foreign market starts to climb it is now decreasing. A big chunk of customers are speculating to see if freight prices come down more.

The market for GWS pumpkin seeds is stable. The main reason for this is that this year a lot of speculators turned to the shine skin market and not GWS. The price has remained the same for several months, some are offering at slightly lower prices. When the demand rises in the coming months there will be a slight up-trend for GWS pumpkin seeds until the new crop arrives.

Organic pumpkin material is drying up slowly and especially GWS. Because of strict European regulation for organic pumpkin seeds, Chinese processors prefer to ship elsewhere. They face problems when products are checked at the European harbors. There is a decrease in freight rates but at the moment it looks stable.

Next to this, the new seeds/new crop will be planted during the next two/three months. The total sown area ready for pumpkin seeds will be similar to 2021 or slightly bigger. European pumpkin seeds are almost sold out for this year, especially organic material is hard to find at the moment.

Flaxseeds

Due to the political instability, the flaxseed market price increased significantly. The Kazakhstan crop was bad last year and therefore a major part of flaxseed came from Russia. However due to the sanctions against Russia this cannot be exported currently.

Consequently, the farmers in Russia may decide not to sow flaxseed this year, so the consequences of the war will be wide spread and long term.

Sunflower kernels

As 30% of the worldwide production is coming from Ukraine and 30% from Russia it is understandable the price of sunflower kernels sky-rocketed since the start of the war. As good news on the negotiations between Russia and the Ukraine were spread the prices seemed to drop a little bit. An overcorrection to the downside for sunflower seed market is not to be expected. As a big chunk of sunflower seeds is used for sunflower oil (with a stable demand but also low available quantities) prices remain firm.

Depending on how long the war will take, the effects on the sunflower kernels price will be felt long-term. Ukraine might not be able to sow and if they are, the crop will be much smaller. The sanctions on Russia are expected to last as well, so this will for sure affect the prices in the year to come. The volume in the market will definitely be lower than before the war, so we expect the price level to stabilize above the pre-war market level.

Hulled millet

The market for millet and linseeds is still insecure, as there is limited information available about the sowing of the crop in Ukraine. There are processors in Ukraine who continue their contracts but these processors indicate they cannot predict anything. The situation will remain unstable and uncertain before any conclusion can be drawn in regards to the war between Ukraine and Russia.

The market prices for both products have risen and the availability is Limited. There is a lot of insecurity in the supply chain due to the sanctions. There is a high probability these sanctions and sowing area will affect the total crop size.

A big part of the crop Hulled millet is coming from the Ukraine, so same effects of the war can be seen. Pending contract are currently on hold, consequently volumes in the market are low. We are in touch with our partners in the Ukraine to see if they are doing fine and what their expectations are.

They inform us that it’s difficult to get trucks passed the Ukrainian border and even if they succeed, freight costs are extremely high.

Miscellaneous seeds and Vegetable oils

The market for chia seeds is stable for the moment, offers in Europe ex works are now above 4,00/kg euro. We advise to wait with closing volumes for the periods Q3 2022 onwards as the main crop in Paraguay, Bolivia and Peru is approaching in May/June.

Organic vegetable oils are hard to come by at the moment. Our production site has limited organic raw material available. When there is organic material available, the strict European regulations make it not suitable for the European market. We are in close contact with some of our partners of organic farms to close quantities in South America.

*Kindly note that this information is dated 05-04-2022 and that markets are fluctuating on a daily basis.