Sunflower Oil — Russian Origin
Specification
Crude Sunflower Oil (CSFO)
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Crude sunflower oil |
| Free fatty acids (as oleic) | ≤ 2.0% |
| Moisture & impurities | ≤ 0.2% |
| Cloud point | ~ 5 °C (typical) |
| Origin | Russian Federation |
Refined-Bleached-Deodorised (RBD)
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Refined sunflower oil |
| Free fatty acids | ≤ 0.1% |
| Moisture | ≤ 0.05% |
| Colour (Lovibond, 5¼"") | per buyer spec |
| Cloud point | ~ -10 °C |
| Origin | Russian Federation |
Standards: aligned with Codex Alimentarius CXS 19 for sunflower oil; KS / KS EAS reference for Kenyan retail-end product.
Origin
Russia.
Russian crushers — EFKO, Aston, Yug Rusi — are major exporters of crude and refined sunflower oil. Production is concentrated in the Krasnodar, Rostov, Voronezh and Stavropol regions, with the major export channel through Black Sea ports.
Loadports
| Port | Type | Inspector |
|---|---|---|
| Novorossiysk | Bulk vegetable-oil terminal | SGS |
| Taman | Bulk vegetable-oil terminal | SGS |
Volume
10,500–25,000 MT per shipment.
Sunflower oil is shipped in bulk vegetable-oil tankers (parcel tankers, 8,000–35,000 DWT, with stainless or coated tanks), or in flexitanks (24,000-litre flexible bladders inside FCL containers) for smaller parcels.
Delivery Terms
FOB / CFR / CIF Mombasa.
Payment
Buyer's bank issues; seller's bank advises or — where required — confirms. Sarpah is not on the instrument chain.
TT MT103, 50/50 split (50% advance on contract; 50% against shipping documents) — Russian / Black Sea standard.
For larger SPAs: DLC under UCP 600. Multi-shipment frame: SBLC under URDG 758 / ISP98.
Application
Sunflower oil is a growing premium edible-oil category in Kenya, supplementing the dominant palm oil flow:
- Bidco Africa (Elianto) — Kenya's largest edible-oil manufacturer (49% market share, $500M+ revenue) — Elianto is the premium 100% sunflower retail SKU
- Pwani Oil Products (Fresh Fri / Salit) — major refiner with sunflower in the SKU range
- Kapa Oil Refineries (Rinda) — sunflower in retail blends
- Menengai Oil Refineries (Top Fry) — sunflower in selected blends
- United Millers — sunflower in retail and wholesale
For Kenyan refiners, CSFO at $800–1,200 per MT FOB (depending on cycle) imported as a refining feedstock is the most cost-effective entry into the sunflower retail-premium segment. RBD at $50–100/MT premium over CSFO can be imported by smaller packers without refining capacity.
Russian sunflower oil is lawfully importable to Kenya under the agricultural carve-outs — see Sanctions, AML & KYC.
Compliance
- AFA Crops Directorate licensing (for crude oil refining/blending)
- KEBS Certificate of Conformity at load port (SGS at Novorossiysk and Taman)
- KEPHIS not required (refined oil) — crude oil with seed traces may trigger inspection
- Certificate of Origin from RF Chamber of Commerce
- COA (FFA, moisture, peroxide value, colour) at load port
- Weight Certificate by independent surveyor
- Marine Insurance with vegetable-oil cargo coverage; P&I sanctions clauses
- EAC CET: HS 1512.11.00 (crude sunflower oil) — 10%. HS 1512.19.00 (refined) — 25%. Stays vary annually
- VAT: Crude as input to refining — zero-rated. Refined retail — 16%
- IDF 2.5%; RDL 2%
Logistics
Vegetable-oil bulk discharge at Mombasa is handled at Shimanzi Oil Terminal vegetable-oil berths or private operator (Mbaraki Bulk Terminal, VTTI). Pwani has direct shore-tank receipt at Kikambala. Flexitank cargoes discharge through standard container terminals.
Procurement Profile
| Buyer | Volume | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Bidco Africa (Elianto programme) | 5,000–25,000 MT per cycle | Recurring |
| Pwani Oil Products | 2,000–15,000 MT per cycle | Recurring |
| Kapa / Menengai / United Millers | 1,500–10,000 MT per cycle | Recurring |
| Smaller packer / regional reseller | 500–3,000 MT per shipment | Episodic |
| EAC re-export refiner | 2,000–15,000 MT per shipment | Per regional demand |