Moldova’s largest sunflower oil producer has stopped its plant due to a lack of Ukrainian raw materials.

The Floarea Soarelui company said that the plant has suspended operations because it cannot purchase enough sunflower seeds on the local market and cannot import them because the import licensing mechanism introduced in the fall of 2023 is practically inoperable.

“We stopped working for 20 days in January 2024, now the plant in Bielce has been stopped again, as well as the Danube Oil plant in Giurgiulesti. In January 2024, we tried to get the right to import seeds from Ukraine, but the specialized commission did not issue us a license,” the company said, noting that the plant can process more than 1,000 tons of sunflower seeds per day while only about 100,000 tons remain on the market and some farmers do not want to sell their product in the hope of higher prices in the summer.

Floarea Soarelui buys sunflower seeds at a price of $380 per ton, while farmers want at least $450 or even $570 per ton.