Sunflower oil imports drop 51% as war disrupts supply routes
image for illustrative purpose
New Delhi: India’s crude sunflower oil imports plunged 51 per cent to 1,45,000 tonnes in February, as the ongoing conflict in West Asia and disruptions to Black Sea shipping routes pushed prices higher and tightened supplies.
According to the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), the average import price of crude sunflower oil rose 17 per cent to USD 1,420 per tonne in February from USD 1,216 a year earlier. A 4.2 per cent depreciation of the rupee during the same period further increased costs for importers and refiners.
Russia and Ukraine together account for nearly 70–90 per cent of India’s sunflower oil imports. War-related disruptions in the Black Sea region, along with tensions affecting shipping routes through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, have raised freight costs and delayed shipments, the industry body said. “Potential disruptions in the Red Sea and Suez Canal could delay shipments, increasing logistics costs and affecting availability,” SEA said
