One of the largest sunflowerseed oil producers, Kernel, has had 4 plants idle since year start

Since the beginning of 2025, four of Kernel's plants have been idle or significantly underloaded due to record low sunflower stocks.

This was announced by the publication Latifundist.com, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

The company's quarterly report states that in the second quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, compared to the same period last year, Kernel increased oilseed processing by 20% to 973,000 tons.

Processing volumes also increased by 42% compared to the previous quarter, when the company carried out scheduled repairs.

Due to the shortage of sunflower seeds, the company's three plants partially switched to processing other oilseeds, including 93,000 tons of soybeans and 14,000 tons of rapeseed.

Despite stable processing volumes in the second quarter, the company expects difficulties in the second half of the season due to a shortage of raw materials.

“Although the second quarter of fiscal 2025 looks stable in terms of processing volumes, it will be difficult to secure sufficient oilseeds to maintain high levels of oilseed processing plants for the rest of the year. As of December 31, 2024, Kernel had its lowest mid-season sunflower seed inventory of only 173,000 tons,” the report says.

In connection with this, in January-February 2025, four Kernel plants were temporarily idled or significantly underloaded due to a shortage of sunflower.

Oil sales in the second quarter increased by 52% quarter-on-quarter and by 11% year-on-year, reaching 408,000 tons.

EBITDA per ton of oil decreased by 48% year-on-year to USD 107, reflecting the difficult market situation.

Taking into account only operating activities without electricity generation, EBITDA per ton of oil was USD 93.

Total EBITDA of the segment decreased by 42% year-on-year to USD 44 million.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in the 2022/2023 marketing year (July 2022 - June 2023), Kernel received a net profit of USD 299 million against a loss of USD 41 million in the 2021/2022 marketing year.

The company's enterprises produce products under the names Schedryi Dar, Stozhar, Chumak Zolota.

Kernel owns 8 oilseed processing plants in Ukraine.

Businessman Andrii Verevskyi controls about 40% of Kernel through the Cypriot Namsen Limited.