India faces shortage of one product due to Russia

After the cancellation of the shipment of a shipment of 20 thousand tons of Russian sunflower oil, the shortage of the product in India has noticeably worsened. Reuters reports this with reference to an industry representative and sources related to supplies.

The problem is related to the inability to load goods at the Black Sea port due to the destruction of infrastructure. For the sunflower oil trade, contract cancellation is very rare; such incidents have not been recorded for many years.

In total, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has already delayed the supply of about 60 thousand tons of sunflower oil, which is why Indian companies are forced to increase purchases of palm oil ahead of the holiday season.

Russia, India's main supplier of sunflower oil, is trying to redirect cargo to Baltic Sea ports, but this means longer delivery times and higher freight costs. However, there is still no other choice, notes Sandeep Bajoria, president of the industry organization International Sunflower Oil Association.

India consumes about 250 tons of sunflower oil per month, importing the vast majority of the product. However, in October the volume could fall to 160 thousand tons due to loading delays from Russia and Ukraine. By now, oil reserves have already been depleted and are at a level noticeably below average.