In Moldova, due to the lack of Ukrainian sunflower, the oil plant stopped

The largest producer of sunflower oil in Moldova stopped work due to a lack of Ukrainian seeds.

"We stopped work for 20 days in January 2024, now the plant in Bielce has been stopped again, as well as the Danube Oil plant in Giurgiulesti. We cannot buy enough sunflower seeds on the Moldovan market. 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," said Stela Ostrovetskyi, director of the plant.

According to her, the enterprise can process more than 1000 tons of sunflower seeds per day, to continue functioning it needs large volumes, which it cannot buy in Moldova.

"According to our estimates, there are only about 100 tons of sunflower seeds left on the market. Some farmers do not want to sell now at the market price, but want to keep the seeds, hoping that prices will rise in the summer," Ostrowecki added.

At the same time, the association Power of Farmers claims that there is a lot of sunflower on the Moldovan market, and accuses processors of not wanting to offer real prices and trying to dictate terms.