Supermarkets ration cooking oil due to shortages from the Ukraine war

Stocks of sunflower oil from Ukraine are running low, due to logistical disruptions from the Black Sea

Ukraine is the largest exporter of sunflower oil in the world (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons have started rationing the amount of cooking oil customers can buy, due to major shortages from Ukraine.

The supermarkets have said shoppers can only buy two bottles at a time.

Ukraine is the largest exporter of sunflower oil in the world, and serves a huge portion of the British market.

Alongside Russia, the nations produce approximately 80 per cent of the global supply.

However, logistical disruptions from the Black Sea, following Vladimir Putin’s invasion, have disrupted trade.

The knock-on effect has been a shortage in all cooking oil, with shoppers resorting to alternatives.

There are now signs in Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose stores, alerting customers to the new restrictions of only buying two bottles of cooking oil at a time, which are applicable for online orders as well.

It’s been likened to the first coronavirus lockdown, when shelves were emptied of basic products such as toilet paper and pasta.

A Waitrose spokesperson told The Independent: “We want to ensure customers continue to have a choice of cooking oil so we are asking them to buy no more than two units each.”

Sainsbury’s has signs telling customers it may be necessary to substitute other oils for sunflower oil “in some products”.

“Rapeseed oil is the most likely replacement, but other oils may be used,” the supermarket told shoppers.

It added that it was taking every precaution to ensure there was no allergy risk related to the substituted oils.

Tom Holder, spokesperson for the British Retail Consortium (BRC), told The Independent: “The war in Ukraine has disrupted supplies of sunflower oil to the UK. Some retailers have introduced limits on the number of bottles customers can buy as a temporary measure to ensure availability for everyone.

“Where sunflower oil exists as an ingredient in products, retailers will be substituting it with other safe oils, such as rapeseed oil. Retailers are also working with suppliers to ramp up production of alternative cooking oils, to minimise the impact on consumers.”

Prices of sunflower oil in the EU remain unprecedented, according to Mintec, the leading provider of global commodity data.

After the Kremlin announced plans to limit the amount of sunflower oil exported to 1.5 million tonnes – with a quota enacted from tomorrow – prices began to rise.

Although they have dipped a little since, prices remain high and have increased by 15 per cent month on month and by 50 per cent year on year.

The slight decline in prices is due to rationing measures being introduced, which has led to a fall in sales.

Several countries have also replaced sunflower oil with rapeseed oil, soybean oil, palm oil and olive oil.

The Independent has contacted Waitrose and the BRC for comment.