Ukraine's top sunflower oil producer shuts down all processing plants due to Russia's mass attacks

Résumé détaillé

Kernel Holding, Ukraine's largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, said its production sites, equipment, and storage tanks had been damaged by Russian drones.

Kernel Holding, Ukraine's largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, announced on Nov. 12 that it had suspended operations at all eight of its extraction plants due to the impact of Russian strikes.

The announcement comes just two days after a source in Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent that Russia is preparing strikes against food industry facilities across Ukraine. The attacks are meant to destabilize food security, inflict economic damage, and increase Russia's share of global agriculture exports.

"Due to massive Russian strikes on food industry facilities, Kernel has suspended operations at all of its oil extraction plants," the company said in a press release on Nov. 12.

"Over the past few days, Russian drones have deliberately targeted production sites at Ukrainian processing facilities, including Kernel's assets. The strikes caused damage to production buildings, equipment, and storage tanks."

The process of extracting sunflower oil poses an high risk of fire, the company explained, meaning a drone strike on production facilities can cause large-scale fires and endanger personnel.

Kernel said that the safety of its employees was the main driver of the decision to suspend plant operations, and confirmed that all workers are currently safe.

The company has also suspended all seed purchases, according to the press release.

Kernel said that it "maintains full operational and financial stability" despite the shut-down and damage caused by Russian strikes. The company also said it continued to ship inventory from its warehouses and fulfill prior agreements with Ukrainian farmers.

Kernel Holding exports sunflower oil products worldwide and provides storage for grains and seeds. Prior to Russia's full-scale invasion, the company accounted for about 9% of global sunflower oil production and was the world's top producer and exporter of the product.

Début de l'article, extrait de The Kyiv Independent. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.