Moldova’s largest oil producer suspends operations due to Ukrainian sunseed

Sunflower Seed

Moldova

Regulation & Compliances

Market & Price Trends

Published Mar 28, 2024

Tridge summary

In Moldova, Floarea Soarelui, the country's largest oil producer, has ceased operations due to a critical shortage of sunflower seeds, a result of an ineffective import licensing mechanism introduced in October 2023. Despite its capacity to process significant quantities daily, the company's request to import seeds from Ukraine was denied in January 2024 by the Ministry of Agriculture's commission. This has led to the suspension of production at its facilities in Bielce and Danube Oil in Giurgiulesti. The situation is further complicated by local farmers holding back seeds in anticipation of price hikes, while the company faces accusations of trying to monopolize the market, although it claims to offer competitive prices.

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Original content

Moldova’s largest oil producer, Floarea Soarelui, has suspended operations due to a lack of sunflower seeds. This was stated by the company’s director Stella Ostrovetski, INFOTAG reports. According to her, Floarea Soarelui cannot buy enough sunflower seeds on the local market and cannot import them, as the import licensing mechanism introduced in October 2023 is practically inoperative. “In January 2024, we tried to get the right to import seeds from Ukraine, but the specialized commission of the Ministry of Agriculture did not issue us a license,” Ostrowiecki said. She noted that the company can process more than a thousand tons of sunflower seeds per day, so it needs large volumes to continue operating, which it cannot buy. For this reason, production was suspended in January, and now the plant in Bielce and Danube Oil in Giurgiulesti have been shut down again. “According to our estimates, there are only about 100 thousand tons of sunflower seeds left on the market. Some farmers ...

Source: UkrAgroConsult