Co-op facing sunflower oil supply issue as supermarkets start rationing

Sainsbury’s and Co-op have said they are also facing cooking oil supply issues, days after Morrisons and Waitrose put measures in place to limit sales.

Two of the UK’s leading supermarkets – Morrisons and Waitrose – have reportedly officially began rationing consumer sales of cooking oil last week, as UK supplies continue to be disrupted following the war in Ukraine.

While Sainsbury’s and The Co-op have not placed official limits on the amount customers can buy, they have admitted they are also sealing with supply chain difficulties.

The Co-op has also said that while product shortages continue to be a “huge challenge”, it is working with suppliers to find solutions to shortages of the common household staple.

Ukraine is the largest exporter of sunflower oil in the world, and serves a huge portion of the British market. Alongside Russia, the nations produce approximately 80 percent of the global supply.

Following Russian invasion on Ukraine, trade and logistical supply have been disrupted resulting in lack of supply and sky high rates.

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— Bryan Roberts (@BryanRoberts72) April 8, 2022

The lack of sunflower oil has seen demand increase for other cooking oils, which led Morrisons and Waitrose to put measures in place to limit sales to two bottles of oil per customer, both online and in-store.

Sainsbury’s said in a statement: “It has been widely reported that the conflict in Ukraine is affecting a number of supply chains, including sunflower oil.

“We are working closely with our suppliers to make sure customers continue to have cooking oils to choose from, including olive oil, vegetable oil, and rapeseed oil.”

There are now signs in Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose stores, alerting customers to the new restrictions of only buying two bottles of cooking oil at a time, which are applicable for online orders as well.

“We want to ensure customers continue to have a choice of cooking oil so we are asking them to buy no more than two units each,” a Waitrose spokesperson told The Independent.