Russia could become the global leader in sunflower oil exports during the current export season, according to Dmitry Rylko, director of the Russian Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR).

"This season (with a start date of September 1, 2022), Russia will become the world's largest exporter of sunflower oil for the first time in its history," said Rylko.

According to estimates from IKAR, Russia could harvest about 28 million tons of oilseeds this season (compared to 24.8 million tons last season), and as for sunflower oil exports, it could reach 3.9 million tons (compared to 3.1 million tons last season).

Now that sunflower oil exports are on schedule and close to record levels, achieving maximum deliveries will help the market "get rid of the huge stockpiles that are putting pressure on it," said Rylko.