Sunflower seed oil: Production and trade.
Source: Data accessed on April 8, 2019 from FAOSTAT, available at http://www.fao.org/faostat.
Despite being a Native American plant, traditionally, the main regions of sunflower oil consumption are the EU and former soviet countries. Ukraine and Russia are currently the largest producers, followed by Argentina. In 2017, Ukraine, Russia, and Argentina produced 12.23, 10.48, and 3.54 Mt, respectively. Expected production gains for Ukraine (to 15.5 in 2018/2019 from 13.7 Mt in 2017/2018) will be caused by improved sunflower yields, as Ukraine's crop area is expected to stay unchanged in 2018/2019 at 6.4 Mha (USDA 2018). In the EU‐28, sunflower seed production increased from 7.21 Mt in 2008 to 10.17 Mt in 2018 (European Commission 2019). World sunflower seed production was 51.49 Mt during 2018/2019 (USDA 2019a). Russia and especially Ukraine are not only the biggest producers but also the biggest sunflower oil exporters. In 2017, Ukraine exported 3.97 Mt of sunflower oil. According to the International Sunflower Oil Association, in 2016, sunflower oil was exported to more than 110 countries in the world. Top importers in 2017 are shown in Figure 1.6 and are led by India and China, which imported approximately 1.52 and 0.96 Mt of sunflower oil in 2017, respectively.
1.3 Novel Sources for Oil Production
Several unconventional raw materials are emerging as promising alternatives to conventional oilseeds for the production of edible oil for use in food, feed, and other industrial applications. These include, but are not limited to insects, microorganisms such as bacteria or microalgae, and seaweed. Insects with potential for being used as sources of edible oils were revised recently (Mariod et al. 2017). Most commonly consumed insects are beetles (Coleoptera, 31%), caterpillars (Lepidoptera, 18%), bees, wasps, and ants (14%), and grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets (Orthoptera, 13%) (FAO 2013). Their lipid content varies significantly among species and depends on what they have fed on, sex, environmental factors, or stage of development – overall, fat content varies between 7 and 77% on a dry weight basis (Dobermann et al. 2017). Insect‐derived lipids are generally liquid at room temperature and are therefore called “insect oils.” These are rich in unsaturated and essential fatty acids and have been suggested as potential ingredients for use in mayonnaises, vinaigrettes, as frying oils, and as food grade lubricants (Sosa and Fogliano 2017). Although insect consumption is not new for people living in some African and South East Asian countries, where at times up to 50% of dietary protein come from insects (Dobermann et al. 2017), it is still unfamiliar and has been associated with unappealing and negative sensory attributes in Western countries (Baker et al. 2016). In Thailand, for example, locusts (Patanga succincta) are such a popular snack that farmers grow crops specifically to feed them (Dobermann et al. 2017). Information on production and trade of edible insects is scarce. Zimbabwe exports caterpillars to Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Moreover, a case study conducted in the Central African Republic reported that the main importers of caterpillars were Chad, Nigeria, and Sudan, while the Central African Republic also exports caterpillars to African communities in Europe (FAO 2013). Thailand imports approximately 700 t of edible insects from Lao People's Democratic Republic and Cambodia (Yen et al. 2013).
Moreover, microalgae have been suggested as one of the most promising resources for generating oil for biodiesel production. Despite the huge efforts and significant amount of money invested over the last two decades the large‐scale technology needed to produce biodiesel from microalgae is still in its early stages of development (Islam et al. 2017; Lafarga 2020). Recently, Garrido‐Cardenas et al. (2018) reviewed the recent worldwide trends in the area of microalgae biotechnology and reported “lipids” as one of the most relevant keywords that appear in over 1000 scientific publications studied. Microalgae‐derived oil for human consumption shows potential for further development as, for example, docosahexaenoic acid‐ and eicosapentaenoic acid‐rich oil obtained from the microalgae Schizochytrium sp. has been accepted as a novel food in the EU according to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 (EC 2015) and microalgae are one of the top trends in the food industry (Lafarga 2019). Currently, world production of microalgal biomass is estimated to be over 20 kt per year and increases an average of 10% per year (Acién‐Fernández et al. 2018). This value is likely to increase as studies have suggested a potential of producing 50 Mt of dried microalgal biomass in Europe alone (Skarka 2012). Macroalgae were also suggested as potential sources for oil production (Wang et al. 2013), although their lipid content is lower when compared to that of microalgae and are especially rich in carbohydrates (Lafarga et al. 2020). Overall, the production quantities and market value of these novel sources for oil production are very low. However, their huge potential suggests that microalgae‐ or insect‐derived oils will play an important role in the food industry of the future.
1.4 Summary
While discussing the trade in oils and oilseeds, in 2011, Gunstone (2011a) divided countries or regions into four main categories: (i) countries like Argentina, Canada, or Australia which have a small population but produce large amounts of oilseeds and oils, dominating world trade; (ii) countries like Brazil, US, or Indonesia which produce large amounts of oilseeds and oils, and despite the need to feed their own population can still export large quantities; (iii) countries like China, India, and other countries in Asia which despite local production still need to import oilseeds and oil; and (iv) regions like the EU which are essentially traders and produce, consume, import, and export these commodities. Vegetable oil has one of the highest trade shares of production of all agricultural commodities – around 41%. Vegetable oil production will also continue to increase in coming years. Oil production depends on both the crush of oilseeds and the production of tropical oil plants, namely oil palm. Asia, or more explicitly Indonesia and Malaysia are the biggest palm oil exporters (70 and 80% of the oil produced in Indonesia and Malaysia is currently exported) and will continue to dominate oil exports in coming years (FAO 2018). However, environmental policies from the major palm oil importers together with the mainstreaming of global sustainable agricultural norms, are expected to slow the expansion of the oil pam area in Indonesia and Malaysia (FAO 2018).
Acknowledgments
The author thanks the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (IJC2018‐035287‐I) and the BBVA Foundation.
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