Russia's invasion of Ukraine heats up cooking oil prices in global squeeze
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has further fueled already high food and energy costs, hitting the poorest people hardest.
ISTANBUL — For months, Istanbul restaurant Tarihi Balikca tried to absorb the surging cost of the sunflower oil its cooks use to fry fish, squid and mussels.
But in early April, with oil prices nearly four times higher than they were in 2019, the restaurant finally raised its prices. Now, even some longtime customers look at the menu and walk away.
"We resisted. We said, 'Let's wait a bit, maybe the market will improve, maybe (prices) will stabilize. But we saw that there is no improvement," said Mahsun Aktas, a waiter and cook at the restaurant. "The customer cannot afford it."
Global cooking oil prices have been rising since the COVID-19 pandemic began for multiple reasons, from poor harvests in
