The EU agri-food sector maintained and expanded a positive trade balance in the first four months of 2026, with a cumulative surplus of €15.6 billion, €233 million higher than in the same period in 2025. Cumulative exports for January–April totalled €77.6 billion, €2.3 billion (3%) below the same period in 2025, mainly due to lower values of exports of cocoa products and pigmeat.
The UK remained the EU's largest export destination, despite a modest dip of 2% (€454 million). Trade with Gulf countries was also affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with exports to the United Arab Emirates falling by 25% (€266 million). By contrast, exports to Egypt increased by €302 million (+49%), driven by wheat, while exports to Ukraine rose by €104 million (+7%).
Cumulative imports reached €62 billion, down €2.5 billion (7%) year-on-year. Import values from Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon and Guinea all declined as cocoa prices continued to fall, while imports from the US and Ukraine also decreased, driven by lower purchases of soya beans and wheat respectively. By contrast, imports from Viet Nam increased by €278 million (+16%), supported by higher coffee volumes. Among product categories, imports of coffee, tea, cocoa and spices fell by €1.6 billion (-12%), while imports of fruit and nuts, beef and veal, and margarine and other oils and fats all recorded increases.
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Argentina’s sunflower seed exports jumped 1,366% in volume in the first four months of 2026, the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries said, making it the fastest-growing product in the country’s agro-industrial export basket.
The performance strengthens the role of Argentina’s farm and food sectors as key sources of foreign currency for the national economy.
From January through April, 209 of the 332 agro-industrial products exported by Argentina posted year-on-year growth. Together, those products generated US$11.318 billion in export revenue and totaled 29.67 million tonnes, according to data compiled by the Undersecretariat for Agri-Food Markets based on INDEC figures.
Sunflower seeds far outpaced the other top-performing products. Dried shelled black bean exports rose 865%, cotton yarn increased 863%, dry beans climbed 381%, and sesame exports grew 190% from the same period last year.
Export growth also spread across other regional economies and agro-industrial chains. Stemmed tobacco rose 132%, butter increased 109%, pork and pork products climbed 84%, honey advanced 84%, wheat grew 77%, lemons rose 76%, and sunflower oil increased 69%.
The official report also said 89 agro-industrial products reached their highest export volumes in the past decade, pointing to a broader diversification of Argentina’s export supply.
Another 33 products that had not been exported in the first four months of 2025 were shipped abroad in the same period this year. The group included sweet potatoes, pork fat, safflower seeds, dried apples, dried pears and goat meat, which together generated US$21.4 million.
The 209 products that increased exports accounted for 72% of total agro-industrial export volume and 66% of the sector’s foreign-currency revenue, underscoring their weight in Argentina’s foreign trade.
The Secretariat of Agriculture attributed the performance to stronger competitiveness following the reduction or elimination of export duties, the opening of new markets, progress on trade agreements such as those involving Mercosur and the European Union and EFTA, and the simplification and digitalization of foreign trade procedures.
Weather conditions in major rapeseed producing countries have become the main factor determining the dynamics of the global market. After a sharp drop in oil prices to levels that preceded the escalation of the conflict between the US and Iran, it is weather risks that are now forming a speculative premium in rapeseed prices.
Western Europe has been hit by a second wave of abnormal heat this week, with temperatures of 35-42°C, which could reduce yield potential and oil content in rapeseed. The biggest impact is expected in France, the largest rapeseed producer in the European Union.
In the 2026/27 season, the area under rapeseed in France increased by 6.5-8% to 1.35 million hectares. However, due to the expected decrease in yield, the gross harvest is forecast at 4.2-4.5 million tons, which is practically in line with the result of 2025.
European analytical agencies MARS and Expana (formerly Stratégie Grains) previously forecast the average rapeseed yield in France at 3.1–3.2 t/ha, which corresponds to the long-term average, but is inferior to the record results of 2025. At the same time, a new wave of extreme heat in the final stage of crop development may lead to further revisions to yield forecasts.
Analyst firm Expana has already lowered its forecast for European Union rapeseed production in the 2026/27 season to 20.3 million tonnes in a June report, down from 20.6 million tonnes in its May estimate. For comparison, production in the previous season was around 20 million tonnes.
Against this background, August rapeseed futures on the Euronext exchange in Paris have increased by 2.9% since the beginning of the week to €518.75/t or $590/t. At the same time, November contracts are trading about €5/t more expensive, which indicates market expectations that the tense situation with the supply of the new crop will remain.
The market was further supported by the worsening situation around the Strait of Hormuz. After new reports of Iran shelling a civilian vessel, the movement of ships through the strait became more difficult again. In addition, official Tehran stated that all ships must pass through the strait under the control of the Iranian side. Against this background, Brent oil prices resumed growth by 1.5% – to $ 75 / barrel, which traditionally supports the market for vegetable oils and rapeseed.
Entering the flourishing fat-alternative space, Helsinki-based Perfat Technologies has announced the launch of the first innovation developed from its oleogel technology.
The startup has introduced Perfat Soft, a solid fat that can replace butter, palm oil, and coconut oil with the same functionality and dramatically lower saturated fat content.
Its oleogelation process turns liquid vegetable oils – sunflower oil, in this case – into these gel-like fats, and incorporates fibre into the mix as a bonus.
“The base ingredient is high-oleic sunflower oil. Other ingredients are soluble corn fibre, mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids and natural antioxidants,” Perfat co-founder and CEO Jyrki Lee-Korhonen tells Green Queen.
The launch comes a year after the startup secured €2.5M in a Series A funding round to scale up production of its innovative fat solutions and bring them to market.
Founded in 2023 by Lee-Korhonen, CTO Fabio Valoppi and COO Anton Nolvi, Perfat is leveraging oleogelation to produce its healthier, sustainable fat alternatives.
Experts recognise oleogels as an alternative fat with major potential. The process combines oil with gelators to form solid structures, giving liquid oils some of the functional attributes of saturated fats, without all the health issues.
However, low availability of food-grade gelators and certain regulatory restrictions around their use have impeded efforts to produce them at a commercial scale. Perfat applies material physics principles to food science to solve this bottleneck and deliver what it says is “unlike anything else on the market”.
Oil World forecast tops USDA estimate
Last week, the US Department of Agriculture had once again slightly raised its forecast for global sunflower seed production in 2026/2027 – which was already at a record level – to 62.064 million mt. Analysts at Oil World also expect a similar trend. According to Oil World, production of as much as 63.3 million mt is even possible, which would represent a 10.1% increase on the research firm’s figures for the previous year – the 2025/2026 crop was put at 57.5 million mt.
The experts cite a larger a...
In the first 50 weeks of the 2025/26 season, European Union countries significantly increased their oilseed exports.
The total volume of deliveries reached 1.833 million tonnes, which is 41% higher than the same period last marketing year, according to data from the European Commission.
The highest export growth rates were recorded for rapeseed and sunflower, while most processed products — meals and vegetable oils — show a decrease in supplies.
By individual crops, exports amounted to:
- soybeans — 281 thousand tons (-24% compared to the same period last year);
- rapeseed — 573 thousand tons (+57%);
- sunflower — 978 thousand tons (+74%).
Exports of processed products amounted to:
- soybean meal — 418 thousand tons (-13%);
- rapeseed meal — 677 thousand tons (-10%);
- sunflower meal — 304 thousand tons (-4%);
- soybean oil — 564 thousand tons (-24%);
- rapeseed oil — 586 thousand tons (+14%);
- sunflower oil — 410 thousand tons (-25%).
At first glance, the rapid increase in sunflower seed exports seems paradoxical, as EU production of this crop has declined this season. However, the main reason was the sharp deterioration in the economics of sunflower processing.
Due to low margins, European oil extraction companies have reduced sunflower processing to the lowest level in the last nine years - about 7.4 million tons compared to 9 million tons in 2024. At the same time, many plants have reoriented their capacities to processing rapeseed and imported canola, which provide higher profitability.
Under these conditions, traditional sunflower producers in the EU, primarily Romania and Bulgaria, have increasingly exported seeds instead of processing them domestically. The main destinations of supply have become Turkey, North African countries, the Middle East and the United Kingdom.
The continued low margins of sunflower processing in Europe may continue to support high seed export volumes, while demand for sunflower oil and meal will remain relatively weak.
The powder segment accounted for the largest market share in 2022, contributing more than two-fifths of global revenue.
WILMINGTON, DE, UNITED STATES, June 24, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- According to a recent report by Allied Market Research titled "Sunflower Lecithin Market by Nature (Organic, Conventional), Form (Liquid, Powder, Others), and End-Use Industry (Food & Beverage, Cosmetics, Nutraceuticals, Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023–2032," the global sunflower lecithin market was valued at $324.6 million in 2018 and is projected to reach $754.8 million by 2032, registering a CAGR of 5.7% from 2023 to 2032.
Sunflower lecithin is a naturally derived lipid blend extracted from sunflower seeds and is widely recognized for its superior emulsifying, stabilizing, and dispersing properties. Composed primarily of phospholipids, sunflower lecithin plays a crucial role in enhancing texture, consistency, and shelf life across various applications. Its clean-label appeal, non-GMO status, and plant-based origin have significantly increased its adoption across food, nutraceutical, and cosmetic industries.
Although global sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production is expected to increase by more than 26% in 2026 compared to the previous year, it will comprise just 0.8% of jet fuel use, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA) projections.
Announcing its latest estimates on 6 June, IATA said the level of growth was “still disappointing”.
Global SAF production was expected to total approximately 2.4M tonnes this year at a cost to airlines of US$4.3bn.
“The path to meeting 65% of our needs in 2050 is growing more difficult with each year of ineffectively sequenced government policies and oil companies’ manifest lack of interest. The current energy shock should add even more urgency to the development of renewables, including SAF,” said Willie Walsh, IATA director general.
“But we have yet to see either the energy shock, the need to develop energy independence and jobs, or the urgency to mitigate climate change materialise in the incentives needed to create a viable SAF market.”
While SAF production volumes remained low, a passenger survey completed by IATA in April showed strong and consistent support for decarbonising air transport.
According to the organisation, 89% of passengers believed the aviation industry should continue reducing emissions even if governments scaled back their efforts. In addition, 66% of passengers said they were willing to pay more to compensate for emissions, and almost 88% said they expected ticket prices to rise due to sustainable investments.
The survey also indicated that 25% of passengers prioritised the use of funds for SAF, with 23% believing investment should focus on emissions-reduction technologies. Only 10% favoured the use of taxes to reduce emissions.
To accelerate SAF scale-up, IATA has called for coordinated global action across four priorities: the expansion of renewable energy supply; open access to fuel infrastructure including pipelines, storage, and airport fuel systems; strengthened policy support; and a global SAF market with sufficient volumes at commercially viable prices.
IATA represents over 370 airlines accounting for around 85% of global air traffic.