The export of sunflower oil plays an important role in the economy of Ukraine, providing approximately 7% of revenues to the budget, and the European Union is a key market, where about 64% of this product goes. Any contamination of products can have catastrophic consequences, as was the case in 2008, when the supply of oil to the EU was blocked due to contamination by petroleum products. Today there is a risk of repeating this situation.
The Ukrainian export of sunflower oil was threatened by the activities of the Sun Flower Terminal company. According to journalistic investigations, this company uses former oil tanks to store oil, which poses a threat to the health of consumers and may lead to a ban on exports to the EU.
According to numerous publications in the mass media and investigations, "Sunflower Terminal" stores sunflower oil in tanks that were previously used to store petroleum products. Such tanks pose a real danger: oil residues can contaminate the oil with toxic substances, which poses risks to human health. The European Union sets strict requirements for the quality of food products, and such violations can lead to an immediate ban on exports.
Violations in documentation and standards
The most serious problem is that the company "Sun Flower Terminal" does not have the necessary licenses and certificates to work with food products. According to the official response of the State Production and Consumer Service to a journalist's inquiry, the company is not registered in the State Register of Food Market Operators, which is a violation of Ukrainian legislation. Moreover, international quality standards, such as the HACCP system, which is required for export to the EU, are not followed.
In turn, the State Environmental Inspection in the official response to the request noted that due to the martial law, inspections at enterprises have not been carried out since 2022, so it does not know what is happening at the "Sun Flower" enterprise...
What is even more surprising is that the State Production and Consumer Service, which is responsible for quality control of food products, does not take active measures to investigate this situation. Despite numerous appeals by journalists and activists, the company was not inspected, and state authorities only acknowledged the presence of violations, but did not take measures to eliminate them. Therefore, it is difficult not to ask questions about the competence and responsibility of state structures that are unable to react to a situation that threatens multimillion-dollar losses for a country already exhausted by the war.
What's next?
If international partners discover traces of pollution, Ukraine risks losing the European market completely, which could have serious economic consequences. In order to avoid this, the government authorities must immediately intervene, carry out the necessary checks and investigations to prevent a repeat of the 2008 scandal.
