High Oleic Sunflower Oil: A Smarter Crude Choice for Refiners

High Oleic Sunflower Oil: A Smarter Crude Choice for Refiners

Unlocking Refining Efficiency

As the demand for cleaner-label, high-performance vegetable oils continues to grow across food, industrial, and specialty markets, refineries are increasingly seeking reliable crude oil suppliers who can deliver consistent quality, predictable volumes, and long-term partnership value. One of the fastest-growing opportunities in this space is high oleic sunflower oil—a premium, versatile feedstock that offers exceptional oxidative stability and is ideal for both food-grade and technical refining applications.

At Laketown Mills, we specialize in supplying high oleic crude sunflower oil to refiners across the U.S. Our vertically integrated dehulling and pressing operations allow us to produce a clean, stable crude oil designed specifically for efficient refining.

Why High Oleic Sunflower Oil? A Superior Feedstock for Modern Refineries

Refiners are increasingly turning to high oleic sunflower oil due to its:

1. Exceptional Oxidative Stability

With an oleic acid content of 80–90%, high oleic sunflower oil has far greater shelf stability and heat tolerance than standard sunflower, soybean, or canola crude. This improves final RBD (refined, bleached, deodorized) product quality and reduces oxidative load during processing.

2. Clean Neutral Flavor & Light Color

Crude high oleic sunflower oil consistently yields a lighter RBD product with minimal flavor carryover—ideal for snack food manufacturers, frying oil producers, and premium retail oil lines.

3. Efficient Refining Characteristics

Compared with other vegetable oils, high oleic sunflower:

  • Generates lower refining loss

  • Has reduced FFA levels

  • Requires less bleaching clay

  • Produces a cleaner deodorized oil

This improves overall production efficiency and lowers cost per refined pound.

Why Refiners Choose Laketown Mills as Their Crude Supplier

Consistent U.S.-Grown, High-Oleic Seed Supply

We contract high oleic sunflower acres with Midwest growers and handle all dehulling and mechanical pressing in-house. You get reliable volume with full supply chain transparency.

Clean, Mechanically Pressed Crude Oil

Our oil is mechanically expelled—no solvents—resulting in:

  • Reduced impurities

  • Lower phosphorus levels

  • More predictable refining behavior

Ideal for RBD, RBDW, and specialty oil programs.

Flexible Contract Structures

We understand the refining marketplace. That’s why we offer:

  • Contracted crude pricing

  • Optional volume-based supply agreements

  • Flexibility to pursue spot-market opportunities when mutually beneficial

  • Long-term partnerships that help refiners secure stable feedstock

Whether you need one tanker a month or multiple full loads per week, we scale with your demand.

Supporting Your RBD Business: A Two-Way Partnership

Our goal is not only to supply crude oil—but to help refiners expand their market reach. We routinely work with refinery partners to:

  • Co-develop RBD oil programs

  • Offer competitive wholesale RBD pricing

  • Sell RBD sunflower oil to our existing customer base

  • Provide logistics support to ensure steady flow-through

For refineries looking to grow their footprint in the high oleic sunflower market, Laketown Mills provides both the crude feedstock and the market access to help drive that growth.

Let’s Build the Next Generation of Refining Partnerships

If you are a refinery seeking:

  • A stable crude high oleic sunflower oil supplier

  • U.S.-grown input material

  • Consistent quality and predictable refining behavior

  • Flexible contracts and competitive pricing

Laketown Mills is ready to work with you.

Do you need, crude pricing, volumes, samples, specs, or long-term sourcing options? Reach out directly to colin@laketownmills.com for further assistance. 

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