Sunflower oil, wheat prices up as Russia ends Black Sea grain deal

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

sunflower oil and wheat are on the rise in India after Russia suspended a deal that allowed export of commodities from war-torn Ukraine through the Black Sea.Soyabean oil, too, is turning expensive, as dry weather in the US has impacted soyabean production in the country, a top producer and exporter of the beans. Shipments of sunflower oil to India have stopped after Russia on July 17 said it was pulling out of the year-old deal that allowed shipments of grains and other foodstuffs to move past the Russian naval blockade in the Black Sea. To make matters worse, over the next two days, Russia bombed the Ukrainian grain port of Odesa, reportedly destroying more than 60,000 tonnes of grain. India imports sunflower and soyabean oils to meet domestic demand. Since the suspension of the deal, sunflower oil prices have risen by almost 8%. “Prices of both sunflower and soyabean oils have started moving up,” said Sandeep Bajoria, Bajoria, CEO of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage and consultancy firm. “If Russia does not extend the grain deal, then prices of sunflower oil go up further. On the other hand, dry weather conditions in the US have driven up the prices of soyabean oil by 5% in the last week.”

Explained: Why Russia pulled out of its grain deal with Ukraine and what that means for the global food system?

In the current oil year, which began in October 2022 and will end in November 2023, demand for sunflower oil is expected to be 3 million tonnes compared with 2.3 million tonnes last year, said Bajoria, as oil consumption has increased after cooking oil prices fell from last year. India annually imports 14.5 -15 million tonnes of oil. Russia’s move has also put the consumer staple companies in a