The war in Ukraine, the world’s largest exporter of sunflower oil, has resulted in a global shortage of the ingredient. Ukraine is known as Europe’s breadbasket, and Russia’s invasion has left the nation’s agricultural arm reeling, with harvests prevented and granaries and crops completely destroyed. “Supply chains, already disrupted by Covid-19, have been further complicated by the war in Ukraine, which is causing shortages in some ingredients like sunflower oil and raising the price of substitute ingredients,” said Kate Halliwell, the chief scientific officer at Great Britain's Food and Drink Federation, which represents the country’s largest manufacturing sector.

Before the shortage, Ukraine and Russia together provided about 75% of the world’s supply of sunflower seed oil, a vital cooking oil globally. The disruption is already having far reaching effects, fueling a severe food crisis in East Africa and leading to export restrictions for Indonesia, while other countries’ citizens find their grocery purchases formally limited.