Russia’s war heats up cooking oil prices in global squeeze

ISTANBUL (AP) — For months, Istanbul restaurant Tarihi Balikca tried to absorb the surging cost of the sunflower oil its cooks use to fry fish, squid and mussels.

But in early April, with oil prices nearly four times higher than they were in 2019, the restaurant finally raised its prices. Now, even some longtime customers look at the menu and walk away.

“We resisted. We said, 'Let's wait a bit, maybe the market will improve, maybe (prices) will stabilise. But we saw that there is no improvement,” said Mahsun Aktas, a waiter and cook at the restaurant. “The customer cannot afford it.”

Global cooking oil prices have been rising since the COVID-19 pandemic began for multiple reasons, from poor harvests in South America to virus-related labour shortages and steadily increasing demand from the biofuel industry. 

The war in Ukraine — which supplies nearly half of the world's sunflower oil, on top of the 25% from Russia — has interrupted shipments and sent cooking oil prices spiralling.

It is the latest fallout to the global food supply from Russia's war, and another rising cost pinching households and businesses as inflation soars. The conflict has further fuelled already high food and energy costs, hitting the poorest people hardest.

The food supply is particularly at risk as the war has disrupted crucial grain shipments from Ukraine and Russia and worsened a global fertiliser crunch that will mean costlier, less abundant food.

The loss of affordable supplies of wheat, barley and other grains raises the prospect of food shortages and political instability in Middle Eastern, African and some Asian countries where millions rely on subsidised bread and cheap noodles.

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