Ukrainian sunflower oil factories may shut down if Russian attacks on energy facilities continue. The spring attacks on infrastructure have already led to a critical state of Ukraine's energy system.

This assumption was made by the analysts on April 16 during an analytical briefing of the First Ukrainian Agricultural Cooperative (FUAC), created within the UAC.

"In April, Ukraine has exported 46,000 tons of sunflower, with Romania and Bulgaria being the main buyers. There is very little sunflower left in Ukraine, and in May-June this oilseed may be in some shortage. However, this may not cause a rise in prices, as prices for vegetable oils, both soybean and palm, are falling on the global markets. Another factor affecting the market is the Russian attacks on the energy sector. Most crushers are powered by electricity. Almost all processors have diesel generators, but it is not advisable to switch to them given the rising cost of production. If Russian shelling of energy facilities continues, some of the plants may shut down due to a lack of electricity. In a critical situation, the state will provide electricity to the population, not to businesses," was noted by the analytical department of the FUAC.

On the sunflower and vegetable oil market, a number of factors will contribute to lower prices.

"Currently, the gross margin in processing generates either zero or very small profit: about USD10-15 per ton. Obviously, there are more factors on the market in favor of further sunflower prices decline. The oilseed price peaked back in January, given the exchange rate. The limit to which the conditional prices for sunflower can be reduced is UAH 15,300-15,500 per ton, although this week the plants are still offering prices of UAH 16,600 per ton. We need to keep an eye on the prices of vegetable oils: as soon as they go down, the prices of sunflower will start to decline as well," the analysts predicted.