Due to a shortage of raw materials on the Ukrainian market, in January 2025 one of the largest sunflower oil producers in Ukraine, Kernel, halted operations at one of its plants.
This was reported in the company’s financial report for the second quarter of its fiscal year.
Kernel processed 973,000 tonnes of oilseeds during this quarter, 20% more than the previous year, thanks to a new oilseed processing plant in Western Ukraine, which began operations in February 2024.
“Due to limited availability of sunflower seeds, three plants switched to processing soybeans (93,000 tonnes) and rapeseed (14,000 tonnes), and by January one of these plants suspended operations,” the report states. At the same time, quarterly oil sales reached 408,000 tonnes (+52% quarter-over-quarter, +11% year-over-year), including 26,000 tonnes of bottled oil.
It’s also noted that in 2024, Ukraine harvested only 10.2 million tonnes of sunflower seeds (as of the end of December) due to abnormal drought conditions - the worst result since 2014. In 2023, the harvest amounted to 12.8 million tonnes.