OILS AND FATS IN THE MARKET PLACE
COMMODITY OILS AND FATS
SUNFLOWER SEED OIL
Sunflower seed oil is obtained from Helianthus annuus and is grown mainly in Russia, Ukraine, Argentina, some EU-27 countries, China, and USA. The oil normally contains 60-75% of linoleic acid with >90% of oleic and linoleic acids combined and virtually no linolenic acid. Its major triacylglycerols are typically LLL (14%), LLO (39%), LLS (14%), LOO (19%), LOS (11%), and other (3%). It is widely used as a cooking oil and is valued as an important component of soft spreads especially in Western Europe. High oleic varieties have been developed. Sunola (Highsun) comes from a high-oleic variety and has about 85% oleic acid (some samples reach 90%) and is used to meet the growing demand for high oleic oils. NuSun with ~ 60% oleic acid has been developed in the USA and it is hoped that it will replace regular sunflower oil in that country. Between 1994/95 and 2007/08, sunflowers have been cultivated on 18.7-23.8 million hectares producing 23.4-30.2 million tonnes of seed and 8.3-10.7 million tonnes of oil therefrom.
Table 1. Production and trade (million tonnes) of sunflower seeds and sunflower seed oil (taken from USDA March 2008). |
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| 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunflower seed | |||||
| Production | 26.89 | 25.41 | 30.08 | 30.18 | 27.67 |
| Argentina | 3.80 | 3.50 | 4.50 | ||
| Russia | 6.45 | 6.75 | 5.65 | ||
| Ukraine | 4.70 | 5.30 | 4.20 | ||
| EU-27 | 5.96 | 6.48 | 4.77 | ||
| Other | 9.17 | 8.15 | 8.55 | ||
| Export | 2.27 | 1.22 | 1.58 | 1.82 | 1.32 |
| Crush | 22.66 | 22.47 | 25.82 | 26.49 | 24.64 |
| Sunflower seed oil | |||||
| Production | 9.19 | 9.17 | 10.50 | 10.72 | 10.08 |
| Argentina | 1.55 | 1.21 | 1.82 | ||
| Russia | 2.32 | 2.45 | 2.07 | ||
| Ukraine | 1.92 | 2.05 | 1.68 | ||
| EU-27 | 2.10 | 2.22 | 1.77 | ||
| Other | 2.61 | 2.79 | 2.74 | ||
| Export | 2.67 | 2.63 | 3.88 | 3.86 | 3.38 |
| Consumption | 8.37 | 8.53 | 9.80 | 10.44 | 9.88 |
* forecast |
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Updated: 2/5/2008 |
Scottish Crop Research Institute (and MRS Lipid Analysis Unit), Invergowrie, Dundee (DD2 5DA), Scotland
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