A plant of Kernel Agro Holding was damaged by a Russian drone attack today . The company is a leading producer and exporter of sunflower oil in Ukraine and one of the largest agricultural traders on the global market. Kernel supplies its products to more than 80 countries, accounting for about 15% of global sunflower oil exports and 18% of grain exports. According to Dmytro Solomchuk, an agrarian policy expert, member of the Ukrainian parliament and member of the Parliamentary Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy, the stoppage and damage to the agricultural holding could lead to an increase in the price of sunflower oil, Komersant ukrainskyi
reports.
“Any damage to agrarians and their facilities affects both domestic and foreign prices, especially for sunflower oil,” he said in an exclusive commentary
The MP also believes that this year’s price increase will be influenced by the abnormal heat wave.
“This year, prices will be affected not only by damage, but also by weather conditions, as the harvest has already begun due to the abnormal heat and farmers are harvesting 500-700 kg per hectare, which will lead to a decrease in forecasts, which will also lead to an increase in prices,” said Dmytro Solomchuk.
He noted that, in general, the volumes sown and processed will be enough for Ukraine’s domestic consumption, but exports will decrease.
“This means less foreign currency will be brought into the country,” he said.
At the same time, Mykhailo Nepran, First Vice President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in an exclusive commentary
“Kernel is a large producer, but there are other producers in Ukraine besides it. We don’t know what kind of production agreements Kernel had – whether their products were exported or shipped to the domestic market, because in general Kernel is more export-oriented. We also have other producers working in the domestic market,” said Mykhailo Nepran.
The First Vice President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry stressed that the country is currently experiencing overproduction of sunflower oil.
“We don’t consume it ourselves, just like we don’t consume bread or grain. Ukraine consumes 8-12 million tonnes of the harvest, which was up to 60-70 million tonnes, which means that we grow 2-3 times more than we need,” he said.
In general, forecasts of price fluctuations can be made no earlier than the end of the harvest, explained Mykhailo Nepran.
“Chickens are counted in autumn. Now the harvest is underway. Somewhere in late August, early September, it will be clear what we are going to get. Let’s not create panic, the situation is difficult, but not critical. There will be no famine,” summed up the First Vice President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
It should be noted that Ukraine exported 462 thousand tonnes of vegetable oil in July: 434 thsd tonnes of sunflower and 27.5 thsd tonnes of soya. Since the beginning of this year, exports of sunflower oil totalled 3.9 million tonnes, and soybean oil – 206 thousand tonnes.
It is unknown whether these figures will decrease due to the damage to the Kernel.
The author – Alyona Kaplina