Constanta increases sunflower oil transshipment due to Ukrainian transit
12.11.2026 - 12:42
In November, the bulk of planned shipments through the port will be Ukrainian products.
The port of Constanta significantly increased the shipment of sunflower oil at the beginning of the 2026/27 season. This is reported by UkrAgroConsult.
In September-October, exports of Romanian oil through the port reached about 43 thousand tons, which significantly exceeds last year’s level. After Ukraine introduced priority for the export of vegetable oils in the second half of October, the share of Ukrainian products in the port flow increased sharply. According to analysts, total shipments through Constanta in early November may approach 98 thousand tons, and the bulk of the planned deliveries will be Ukrainian oil.
Part of the volumes enter Romania as imports. This allows local plants to increase processing and production of refined products with higher added value, and also expands the export potential of finished products to European markets.
For Ukrainian producers, the reorientation to the Romanian port remains forced. In July-October 2026, vegetable oil exports from Ukraine decreased by 18%, and sunflower oil by almost a third. The transition from sea shipments to Danube ports, railways and western borders increases logistics costs and limits the load on processing plants.
The priority regime was supposed to accelerate shipments and reduce the accumulation of finished products, but administrative decisions do not increase the physical capacity of the transport infrastructure, UkrAgroConsult notes.
On the Romanian domestic sunflower market, prices increased after seasonal pressure during the harvest. Support is provided by demand from Turkey for seeds and oil, as well as the lower oil content of Romanian sunflower after a dry summer.
According to analysts, Constanta is increasingly operating not only as a transshipment point, but also as an export, transit and processing hub at the same time. Romanian farmers are already considering expanding the area under sunflower in 2027. As USM wrote the day before, for the stable operation of the oilseed industry, Ukraine must export 400 thousand tons of oil per month.
