Sunflower Oil 39 Essential Telephone Nos

The recent invasion of Russia in the Ukraine has drawn attention to the world supply of sunflower oil, and to the progressive effects on bottled cooking oil, margarines and many other products.

To me it seemed odd that one global issue can have such an effect on the supply of something so ‘everyday’ as cooking oil. So I did a bit of research.

Since last March, we have been told that the Ukraine is the world’s greatest producer of sunflowers and hence its oil, and without their crops, the rest of the world will have to go short, and yet, all around us in Spain we see fields and fields of sunflowers. How can this be true?

The numbers speak for themselves when you find that about 20 million metric tons of sunflower seeds are consumed each year, and a half of that amount comes from the combined production of Russia and the Ukraine.

So what about Spain, and France, and the US? It seems that, compared with Russia and the Ukraine, all those fields of sunflowers are scarcely worth counting. Compare the 5 million tons that both Russia and the Ukraine produce, poor old Spain produces only about a half a million tons, and while France does a bit better with about 600 thousand tons, the United States produce only about a quarter of a million tons –all based on the 2019 production figures.

Sunflowers need fertile ground, and rain and direct sunshine at the right time of the year. All of that is obviously available in Russia and the Ukraine, and so too in Kazakhstan, parts of Europe, Argentina, Brazil, China, Tanzania and South Africa. So it’s not impossible to produce more than we already do, even within Europe, but our fertile fields are already being used for other produce that we also want. And that’s why the vast majority of the crop currently being denied us by Russia or inaccessible from the Ukraine, has been allowed to happen.

Interestingly, once the sunflower itself has enjoyed its time in the sun, and the seeds have matured to the point of harvesting, and that happens in about September and October, the weather doesn’t play much of a part. In the States, the farms of North Dakota, for instance, can take out their John Deere harvesters in flurries of snow and sub-zero temperatures, and still return a good product in mid-October, and no doubt the same happens on the plains of Russia and the Ukraine. So, while it is a seasonal crop, it’s not troubled at harvest-time as is wheat and barley, when a wet autumn can play havoc with the economy of the crop.

And as for sewing the seeds, there are no great demands either; after ploughing to a depth of about 30 cm, and sewing the seeds by automatic feeders 50 cm apart (to allow the leaves to get plenty of sunlight) the plants will grow to a height of 1.50 to 2.00 m in fields stretching as far as the eye can see. We really are talking of vast areas – many square kilometres. And reliable machinery is the key to success. And we have that!

So, while we can say that we (the rest of the world) should not have allowed Russia and the Ukraine to dominate the world production of a very attractive seed, the shortage can be dealt with, in time, and meanwhile, there are other oils – other that the yukky palm oil – to use instead.

As Del-boy used to say, ‘This time next year, Rodney, we’ll be doing alright!’ Submitted by Geoff Morgan

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