Russia-Ukraine war to make potato chips expensive

COOKING oil prices are up the roof, and the Russia-Ukraine war is expected to make matters worse, especially for fried potato chips lovers – a Namibian youth delicacy.

Students, construction workers and young professionals are the frequent consumers of potato chips, which now – all thanks to the Russian-Ukraine war – are set to become expensive and probably not fill enough bellies from next week.

Workers at a popular fast food hotspot in central Windhoek yesterday told The Namibian that a price hike is inevitable, and consumers should be ready for a 15% plus increase.

Despite Russia/Ukraine being thousands of miles away, the war has sent edible food prices soaring.

Potato chips use a lot of cooking oil.

Before the war, prices of cooking oil were already up. Ukraine and Russia are key players in the supply of vegetable oil.

The workers interviewed by The Namibian said the price of the cooking oil has drastically risen this year compared to last year.

They indicated that 20 litres of cooking oil last year cost about N$475 compared to approximately N$700 this year.

In neighbouring South Africa, the situation is no different.

“The impact of the increase in cooking oil [price] within the food industry is expected to realise in the processing industry on frozen potato produce, such as French fries and wedges, as well as crisps,” said Potatoes South Africa, an non-governmental organisation that protects the potato industry in that country.

The hospitality and quick service restaurants industries will not be left untouched, it said.

“We do foresee consumers feeling the pinch as the suppliers of chips will have to adjust their current pricing based on an increase in one of their main inputs, which is cooking oil,” said Potatoes South Africa.

The Russian invasion into Ukraine sent the prices of several essential commodities soaring, including oils such as sunflower oil, which was in short supply over the last few years following poor harvests of sunflower, palm, soya, and canola in crucial regions of the world.

Although South Africa produces vegetable oil, it does not make enough to meet local demand, and imports (about 20% above local production) are heavily dependent on the Black Sea region.

Over the past five years, South Africa imported up to 250 000 tonnes of sunflower oil from mostly Russia and Bulgaria, according to Thomas Mielke, executive director of Oil World.

“There are already supply and demand issues; the supply is getting less, and oil prices are already very high because of drought and some difficulties in the previous years,” Luan van der Walt, an economist at Grain SA, said.

Some of the prices are increasing sharply, in part, because of panic buying, he said.

Potato prices are currently “quite fair”, said Strike Sebake, the managing director of Tshwane Green, a market agent at the Tshwane fresh produce market.

The other major input cost for fried chips is either electricity or gas used for cooking – both of which are rising sharply.

– Additional reporting, Business Insider SA

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