The war in Ukraine is leading to a shortage of sunflower oil and Belgian fries shops are having to fall back on palm oil. The industry’s federation, Belgapom, has confirmed the shortage. It could mean an acute crisis for the fries industry.
Sunflower oil is the ingredient most commonly used to process potatoes into chips or fries. 75% of the sunflower oil used for this purpose comes from Ukraine or Russia, markets that have been heavily disrupted by the war. “Two weeks ago, companies still had six weeks’ worth of stocks. Now it’s uncertain,” said Vermeulen.
As things stand, I think we have a couple of weeks left with our available sunflower oil, but not more
Christophe Vermeulen, CEO of Belgapom
According to Politico, Belgium is the world’s biggest exporter of frozen fries. A Belgapom report reveals that in 2020 some 5.08 million tonnes of potatoes were processed into fries, mashed potatoes, crisps and flakes. This number includes roughly 2 million tonnes of potatoes that became frozen fries. Politico reports that 95 percent of Belgians visit a fries kiosk at least once a year. More than 60 percent eat fries every week.
Given the challenging situation, companies are looking for alternatives, which in the first instance, is being palm oil, a more expensive and less sustainable option. Another side effect is that producers also have to change their labels if they switch to palm oil.
These are vegetable fats, but there are differences, just think of the amount of saturated fats.
Christophe Vermeulen, CEO of Belgapom
The sector is in consultation with the government on this issue, including the Afsca (Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain). “We want to keep our production up to standard on the one hand, and on the other hand we also have to inform the consumer,” says Vermeulen.
Politico reports that for some independent fries shops, one of the main concerns at this point is that as sunflower oil supplies run out, larger industries will absorb the demand for other types of vegetable oils, which could put smaller businesses at risk.
