Ukraine Supply to Take Spotlight at Bali Palm Oil Conference
- Ukraine was largest exporter of sunflower oil before invasion
- Striking a balance between food and fuel use is important too
Palm oil loaded into a truck from a tanker docked at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta, earlier in April.
Photographer: Dimas Ardian/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The supply outlook for cooking oil will be a hot topic at a conference in Indonesia this week after Russia suspended its participation in a pact to ensure safe transit of ships carrying grain and foodstuffs from Ukraine.
Ukraine accounted for almost half of the world’s sunflower oil exports before the Russian invasion in February. The war choked off that supply, and helped drive prices of palm oil, the most consumed edible oil used in everything from margarine to ice cream and shampoo, to a record close in April. Indonesia is the top global supplier of palm oil and Malaysia is the No. 2 producer.