Sunflower oil crisis in Ukraine hits food from chips to biscuits

Russia’s invasion has caused a humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine and disrupted food trade around the world, sending wheat and corn prices up to their highest levels in a decade. Ukraine is a major grain supplier for countries in the Middle East. Meat prices are also under pressure as feed costs for cattle and pigs increase.

Ukrainian farmers are pushing ahead with spring sowing but will face challenges as they struggle with shortages of labour, fuel and fertilizers. Russia has blocked Ukrainian ports, cutting off the traditional export route. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that Russian troops are targeting agriculture, planting landmines in farms and destroying machinery.

“Where sunflower oil is present as an ingredient in products, retailers will replace it with other safer oils like canola oil,” he said Andrea Martinez-Inchausti, Deputy Food Director of the British Retail Consortium. For foods like potato chips that use sunflower oil as a key ingredient, retailers will put information about substitute oil on existing labels, she said.

The British Sandwich & Food to Go Association requires sellers to put up signs with pre-packaged sandwiches explaining that some ingredients may have changed because the packs were pre-printed. Philippines-based company Monde Nissin said it was replacing UK rapeseed oil with sunflower oil in its meat alternatives.

Companies that use sunflower oil for frying have replaced it with palm oil, soybean oil and canola oil, industry group Fediol said. Andrew Crook, president of Britain’s National Federation of Fish Friers, said prices for 20-litre drums of sunflower oil have risen from £30 to £40 ($52) in the past two weeks at his own shop in Euxton, north-west England . They typically have eight or nine a week and may need to switch to palm oil at some point, though he values ​​sunflowers for their “nice, clean taste.”

The concerns are all the greater food prices and the need to look further afield for supplies will dilute food standards in Europe and force companies to choose ingredients that may be more harmful to the environment. Palm oil and soy have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years for their role in deforestation, prompting plans for EU import restrictions.

According to Hemeline Macret, head of oilseeds market analysis at Strategie Grains, canola oil is seeing the strongest increase in demand. “It’s already used in food and palm oil isn’t very popular because of its bad image.” Soybean oil isn’t used in many recipes because it’s often made from genetically modified soy, she said.

The war is exacerbating an already strained supply chain as transportation problems and crop failures drive food prices to record highs. Rising costs of staple foods in import-dependent countries in the Middle East and North Africa are bringing people’s resilience to a “strain point,” according to the United Nations World Food Program.

“If this war doesn’t stop soon, supply disruptions could continue from now until 2023,” said Hemeline Macret.