How the war in Ukraine also endangers Belgian fries | Instagram HLN

The sector federation Belgapom confirms the shortage of sunflower oil. “An acute crisis. At the moment it is all hands on deck at the potato processors”, says Belgapom CEO Christophe Vermeulen.

The potato processors normally use sunflower oil to process the potatoes into chips or chips. Seventy-five percent of the sunflower oil used comes from Ukraine and Russia, markets that are currently heavily disrupted by the war.

The potato processors are therefore looking for alternatives. “In the first instance, we are looking at palm oil,” says Vermeulen.

Scarcity of oil, however, causes prices for alternatives, such as palm oil, to go up. Palm oil is also a lot less sustainable than sunflower oil. Production is the biggest driver for deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia, which in turn endangers the habitat of the orangutan, among others.

The producers also have to change their labels due to the switch to palm oil. “It also concerns vegetable fats, but there are differences, just think of the amount of saturated fats”. The sector is in consultation with the government about this, including the Food Agency. “On the one hand we want to keep our production up to standard, on the other we also have to inform the consumer,” says Vermeulen.

The shortage of sunflower oil has already reached the government table. Minister of the Self-Employed, SMEs and Agriculture David Clarinval (MR) cited the shortage as an example of companies struggling with rising energy and commodity prices. The government will now ask the National Bank to investigate the impact of the war on the various sectors, so that it can then take measures based on that.

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