The war in Ukraine is already beginning to have consequences in the supermarkets of our country. Many of the people who have tried to obtain a bottle of sunflower oil in Spain these days have encountered severe limitations, such as the prohibition of obtaining more than one container per day of this product or, directly, with the shortage of five liter bottles. Some large establishments already ration sales of this product to avoid shortages due to the war in Ukraine.
“Since Spain is an importer of a product, such as sunflower oil, from the Ukraine, then, obviously, this has an impact on the functioning of the market for this product,” said Felipe Medina, secretary general and technician at the Spanish Association of Distributors, Self-Services and Supermarkets (ASEDAS). 60% of imports of this element come from Ukraine. Added to this is a higher than usual demand from customers. All for fear of shortages. Faced with a situation that does not know how long it could last, solutions are already being sought.
“Alternatives to these products are sought in countries of origin from which they can be imported, production alternatives and even product alternatives“, Medina pointed out. For the sectors in which oil is a fundamental piece for the development of the business, the alternative right now is the purchase of olive oil, even being aware that it means paying a higher price than the oil of sunflower, which continues to rise due to the conflict unleashed in Ukraine.In this sense, some of the companies that need large quantities of oil for day to day even regret that this situation has caught them by surprise.
But sunflower oil it is not the only product that is in danger in Spain as a result of the war. As reported by the Interfax news agency, Ukraine has already suspended the export of rye, oats, buckwheat, millet, sugar, salt, meat and livestock. However, from the Government they wanted to make a call for calm: “Ukraine is an agri-food supplier, but Minister Planas has confirmed that there are no supply problems.” This is how the Vice President and Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño, has expressed herself in an interview with TVE.
The oil and gas problem
Experts have highlighted that, right now, Europe is facing one of its main challenges due to this war: its energy dependency on Russia. Calviño has also spoken on this issue, recognizing that “difficult times are coming due to Putin’s war” although “Spain is one of the least exposed countries” to the consequences of this war. In this sense, he has highlighted the attempts by the Government to “separate the price of electricity from the price of gas” with the aim that “what Putin does does not influence the electricity bill”.
A light that this Monday has broken records standing at 442 euros per megawatt hour. In line with what Calviño stated, Europe is looking for new ways to import gas and oil so as not to depend so much on Russia, something in which, in fact, Spain is one step ahead. “We have a great deal of options, and that is what makes us right now one of the safest countries from the point of view of supply in the European Union”, said Juan Escribano, director of the Energy and Climate Program of the Royal Institute ElCano.
At the moment, the gas sector does not believe that there is a risk of shortages in the face of a crisis between Europe and Russia. In this sense, Joan Batalla, president of the Spanish Gas Association (SEDIGAS), pointed out that “in Europe, gas from Russia is more than 70%, but in the case of Spain it is below 10%”. This makes the sector appear safe. Precisely, Minister Calviño has confirmed the talks with Algeria to consolidate their relationship for gas supply.
Sánchez expresses his gratitude to Algeria as a reliable partner in the energy field with the desire to strengthen cooperation”
Some conversations that the Presidential Office of Algeria announced this Sunday through social networks: “The President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, has received a call from the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, in which he expresses his gratitude to Algeria, as reliable partner in the field of energy, with the desire to strengthen cooperation”. In 2021, Russian gas accounted for barely 8% of the totalwhile the Algerian accounted for 44%, even after the closure in November of the Moroccan gas pipeline through the pass.
In addition, Spain also has advantages in terms of oil, and that is “the supply of crude oil to Spain is highly diversifiedwhich means that our security of supply is very high”, Inés Calderón, director of Communication and Legal Affairs of the AOP, has indicated in this regard. In total, crude oil arrives from 17 different countries, with Nigeria, Mexico or Libya at the head, while Russia only accounts for 4.6%.Therefore, we have a guaranteed supply, but what about prices?Juan Escribano has clarified that “the certainty that we are going to be able to have gas and oil is that we are going to have ability to pay for it at market price.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
