80% of the sunflower oil from all over the world comes from Russia and the Ukraine, so it is not surprising that the war has ruined the market for this product.
Chains such as Mercadona, Consum or Eroski are already rationing sales to avoid shortages in their stores, but the truth is that many shelves are already without any type of sunflower oil.
At the domestic level, olive oil or olive pomace are the most obvious alternativesbut the problem is greater at the industrial level, where the replacement is not evident, especially now that the season for French toast, fritters, and other pan-fried fruits is approaching.
“Already the same day that the war broke out, some of our companies they stockpiled of sunflower oil for the next four months and they tell us that, indeed, there is no longer any oil on the market”, he confirms to Direct to the Palate a spokesman for the Spanish Association of the bakery, pastry and pastry industry (Asemac), one of the most affected sectors.
The companies, inform from Asemac, they are not very optimistic with finding an alternative supply at an acceptable price, so they are focusing on making their products with other vegetable oils.
All prices will go up
The most obvious alternative to sunflower oil is olive pomace oilan ideal oil for frying that until now had similar prices.
It is inevitable that prices will end up rising
Sources from the orujero sector confirm to Direct to the Palate that as soon as the war started the sale of this type of oil skyrocketed, but there is not enough to supply all the demand. “It can only alleviate part of the problem, since volume would not be enough,” they point out.
In Spain, around 123,000 tons of refined pomace are exported, while in the domestic market they move around 42,000 tons. However, the sunflower marketed in our country last year was more than 291,000 tonsaccording to data from the National Association of Edible Oil Refiners and Bottlers (Anierac).
Olive pomace oil is still a by-product of the olive grove, whose production is limited. “The capacity of the industry is an average of 120,000 tons per year, 83% is exported and the rest goes to the domestic market”, explain the orujeros. “Nor could we destock traditional markets.”
Initially, pomace oil refiners they closed their offers to prevent prices from positioning themselves at prohibitive levels, and to stop the escalation that began in the last ten days in the original market, but it is inevitable that prices will end up rising.
Labeling Changes
The sudden cut in imports of sunflower oil creates an added problem for the food industry. If the products begin to be made with another type of oil, be it olive pomace or other seed oils such as rapeseed oilit is necessary to modify all the containers to reflect it in the labeling.
“They still don’t know what the alternative will be and, therefore, they can’t order labels with the new ingredients, which is going to make it very difficult, given the label delivery deadlines, for them to have this matter resolved before starting to use the alternatives”, they explain from Asemac. “In this sense, the Spanish Federation of Food and Drink Industries (FIAB) has requested the competent bodies to approve a temporary exception to labeling and we are waiting to receive a response.
What is certain is that this year French toast, churros and buñuelos will have to be fried with another oil.
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