For the Quarter Ending March 2022
North America
In North America, Peanut oil prices fluctuated in the first quarter of 2022, with healthy demand in the region. Due to favorable weather conditions in late December and early January, the harvest was good, which affected the price trend. At the onset of the second half, the prices went up due to the Russia Ukraine invasion leading to port congestion, suspended transportation, and logistics issues. Also, the groundnut seed scarcity negatively impacted the rabi crop. With surging demand from end-user industries, peanut oil prices further increased as the North American region experienced a supply crunch. Towards the end of the quarter, the prices of peanut oil were observed to increase with widening supply-demand gap.
Asia Pacific
In the Asia Pacific region, the peanut oil prices fluctuated drastically in Q1 2022. In the first half of Q1, peanut oil prices were on the lower side due to sufficient supply in the domestic market owing to favorable weather conditions and reduction in import duties. In major exporting countries, the productivity of the feedstock peanut was surplus in the previous quarter, contributing to fall in its prices, globally. At the onset of the second half, peanut oil prices increased significantly due to the Russian Ukraine conflict, which resulted in higher prices by disrupting trade routes and hiking up freight charges amid climate crises. The global increase in edible oil prices led to surging demand for compressed oil. Towards the end of the quarter, peanut oil prices showed an upward trend with positive cost support. Later, the Indonesian government-imposed ban on the export of palm oil, sending big importers like India to scramble for alternatives.
Europe
In the European region, the market of peanut oil experience stable trajectory with sharp surge in the price towards mid quarter. The Russian Ukraine invasion surged the prices of cooking oil globally due to increased freight charges, suspended transportation, and route disruption. Moreover, increasing demand from downstream biofuel industry kept the prices on upward trajectory. Also soaring demand from retailer and restricted supply from producing belts retained the peanut prices higher in the first quarter of 2022. Due to supply-demand imbalance, imports to Italy and Netherlands also affected with supply crunch in the international market.
