Sunflower oil is returning to Dutch supermarkets

Nearly three months after Russia invaded Ukraine, shoppers in the Netherlands can breathe a sigh of relief as sunflower oil has finally returned to supermarket shelves – albeit at a much higher price.

Vegetable oil is finally back on the shelves of Dutch supermarkets

As the largest importer of Ukrainian sunflower oil in Europe, experts in the Dutch food industry were concerned that the Netherlands could face a serious shortage of sunflower oil. These fears quickly led to shoppers across the country rushing to a local supermarket to stock up on these key culinary ingredients.

As concerns grew and the war continued in Ukraine, supermarket shelves were stripped bare, and people across the country found it increasingly difficult to obtain any kind of vegetable oil. Now, more than two months since experts first sounded the alarm, it seems sunflower oil has finally returned to most Dutch supermarkets.

In the Netherlands, the price of sunflower oil has doubled

Many supermarkets have also lifted any restrictions on the purchase of sunflower oil, but shoppers will now face a new hurdle in trying to stock up on cooking oil: price. According to the MVO, a representative of the Dutch oil and fat industry, and CBL, the umbrella organization of Dutch supermarkets, prices are now twice as high as before the “sunflower oil crisis”. It will also increase the cost of producing a number of other foods such as margarine and baby food.

Although immediate panic purchases seem to have passed, the MVO warned that the country continues to face a shortage of sunflower oil. Although some supplies are still imported from Ukraine, Indonesia’s recent decision to stop all exports of palm oil – a key alternative to sunflower – has added additional pressure to the international culinary oil market.