Russia Resumes Strikes on Ukraine's Sunflower Oil Refineries, Hitting Bunge Plant
Impact of Russian Attacks on Ukraine's Sunflower Oil Industry
(Fixes typo in the headline)
Recent Attack on Bunge Facility in Dnipro
Sept 10 (Reuters) - Russia has resumed attacks on oilseed processing plants critical to Ukraine's exports, striking on Thursday a major facility in the eastern city of Dnipro owned by global agribusiness and food company Bunge.
Significance of Sunflower Oil Exports
Before the war with Russia, Ukraine was the world's largest exporter of sunflower oil, shipping 5 million to 6 million metric tons of the commodity a year.
According to government figures, revenue from vegetable oil exports in 2025 amounted to $5.2 billion versus $7 billion in 2021.
The Dnipro plant is among Ukraine's five largest and can process 1,600 tons of oilseeds per day.
Casualties and Damage
Regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said earlier that two people had been killed and five injured in attacks that damaged a food business in the city.
History of Attacks on Oilseed Refineries
Over the past year and a half, Russia has attacked Ukrainian oilseed refineries and vegetable oil terminals four times, including a strike on the Bunge facility in Dnipro in January 2026. Bunge has not yet commented on the attack.
Impact on Other Producers
Allseeds Halts Operations
One of Ukraine's biggest vegetable oil producers, Allseeds, said in July it was halting operations in Ukraine's southern Odesa region due to intensifying Russian attacks on port infrastructure.
The closed Allseeds facility can process 2,400 tons of sunflower seeds per per.
Allseeds' export terminal was hit in December 2025.
Forecast for Sunflower Oil Output and Exports
Ukraine is likely to increase its sunoil output to 5.8 million tons in 2026/27 from 4.4 million tons in 2025/26 thanks to a sharp increase in sunflower seed harvest, analyst APK-Inform said.
The consultancy forecast that Ukraine can export 5.38 million tons of sunoil in 2026/27 against 4.47 million tons in 2025/26.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka in Gdansk, Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Louise Heavens)
