Ukraine’s Top Sunflower Oil Maker Faces Export Squeeze From War
- Kernel CEO: Grain, oilseed output could fall by more than 40%
- Crops are being shipped by land, capacity much lower than sea
A field of sunflowers near Horishni Plavni, Ukraine, in 2019.
Photographer: Evgeniy Maloletka/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Ukraine’s sunflower-oil sector -- the world’s largest -- is suffering major cutbacks to plantings and exports because of the Russian invasion, the biggest producer said.
Farmers are kicking off the spring sowing season, and plantings could fall 20%, with yields also decreasing, Ievgen Osypov, chief executive officer of Kernel Holding SA, said Tuesday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. Together, that means the combined output of grains and oilseed could fall to a maximum of 60 million tons, compared with more than 100 million tons last season, Osypov said.