Russia bans the import of sunflower seeds and restricts the export of its oil What is the reason?

The Russian Ministry of Agriculture has announced a ban on the export of sunflower seeds, and will also set an export quota for its oil to avoid shortages and ease pressure on local prices.

On Thursday, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture announced a ban on the export of sunflower seeds from tomorrow, Friday, until the end of August, and will set an export quota for its oil to avoid shortages and ease pressure on local prices.

This came in a statement by the ministry, in which it said: "With the sharp growth in international prices of sunflower oil and oilseeds, the demand for the Russian product is currently rising."

The ministry stated that the ban on seed exports will start from April 1 to August 31, and an export quota of 1.5 million tons will be set for sunflower oil from April 15 to August 31.

Ukraine and Russia are the world's largest producers of sunflower oil, and India is a major customer.

In turn, sector officials said that India contracted to buy 45,000 tons of Russian sunflower oil at a record high price for shipments, in April, with the price of edible oil rising in the local market after supplies from Ukraine stopped, according to their interview with Reuters.

Last week, the Russian Agriculture Ministry said Moscow should set export quotas for sunflower oil to "maintain stability" of domestic supplies, as Russia takes steps to protect its food market after the West imposed sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

"This set of measures will eliminate the possibility of shortages, as well as sharp increases in the cost of raw materials and products of social importance in Russia," the ministry added in its statement today.

Traders said that Russian crude sunflower oil is being offered at a record price of $2,150 per ton, including insurance and freight costs in India for April shipments, compared to $1,677 for soybean oil and $1,720 for crude palm oil.