Posted on 07/05/2022 23:22
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L’one of the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine is the lack of sunflower oil. It is becoming increasingly rare on supermarket shelves. Faced with this shortage, farmers are reacting and some of them have decided to increase their sunflower production.
In supermarkets, the shelves are empty, sunflower oil is scarce. So in Occitania, tractors are running at full speed in the fields, like that of Guillaume Daudé. He planted 20 hectares more than last year. An additional cash flow, because the price of sunflower continues to climb. “We were on 800 euros per ton. Compared to a sunflower last year which was around 250, 300, it is sure that it is not negligible”, says the grain farmer. A godsend for this farmer, because this cereal is easy and inexpensive to produce.
In Normandy, Jean-Marie Lenfant does not lack work either. He produces his own sunflower oil which is selling much faster than last year. He raised the price of his oil by just 50 euro cents. He honors orders from his regulars, but faced with demand, he refuses new customers. In France, in 2021, there were 700,000 hectares of sunflower. The sector hopes to reach 800,000 hectares this year.