Russia-Ukraine crisis: Sunflower prices heading north in South India

South India, which accounts for 60-65 per cent of the country’s annual sunflower consumption, is bearing the brunt of the Russia-Ukraine crisis with wholesale rates in most centres increasing between 7 and 28 per cent since February 24, according to the data sourced from the department of consumer affairs. The price increase in other parts of India has not been that steep so far.  

The Centre, meanwhile, has stepped up its efforts to secure the supply lines for sunflower oil and other edible oils, such as soyoil and palm, to compensate for the supply bottleneck. 

Sources said the Centre had asked importers to look for sunoil sellers in Argentina as well as encourage domestic soybean farmers to part with their remaining crop. Russia and Ukraine supply 90 per cent of India’s annual sunflower oil imports of 2.5 million tonnes, while the rest comes from Argentina. On the domestic front, the government is pushing to raise the production of rice bran oil from the current 1.0-1.1 million tonnes per year to meet the crisis.