German chemical giant Bayer has said it would continue to supply agricultural products to Russia and was hoping for a swift resolution to what it called a technical delay in the country’s sunflowerseed imports, Reuters reported.
“As announced last year, Bayer continues to supply key agricultural products and solutions for farmers in Russia,” Bayer was quoted as saying in the 8 February report.
“At the moment, there are temporary delays in sunflowerseed imports. We are hoping for an early resolution of the technical delay and for the timely import of seeds for the upcoming sowing campaign,” the company told Reuters.
The company’s statement followed a report in the Izvestia newspaper on 7 February, which said Western seed producers had suspended sunflowerseed shipments to Russia and paused customers’ bids for purchases. The report cited letters by Bayer, Swiss agrochemicals group Syngenta and seed firm Nuseed.
Russia’s agriculture ministry said it did not see any risks for the 2023 sowing campaign and had already stocked up on what it needed, even if Western suppliers stopped shipments, according to the Izvestia report.
Russia and Ukraine are the world’s largest sunflower oil exporters.
