Russia could increase vegetable oil exports to Africa nearly 50% in 2023 - experts

MOSCOW. Nov 28 (Interfax) - Russia could boost vegetable oil exports to Africa nearly 50% to 850,000 tonnes this year, the information and analytical agency OleoScope said.

Last year, 577,000 tonnes went to Africa. The increase, according to experts, will occur because of an expected nearly 2.5-fold increase in sunflower oil shipments.

As OleoScope analyst Kirill Lozovoy told Interfax, sunflower oil is still a premium product for African consumers, but demand for it is gradually increasing. The most popular type of oil in the region is traditionally palm oil as it is the most accessible.

Over the ten months of this year, Russia sent 652,000 tonnes of vegetable oils to Africa compared to 446,000 tonnes in the same period last year. The increase in shipments was part of a noticeable increase in sunflower oil exports from 178,000 to 419,000 tonnes, the analyst said. The key buyers in January-October were Egypt and Sudan, with 303,000 tonnes sent (a 2.2-fold increase over the year) and 71,000 tonnes (a 2.3-fold increase), respectively. In Tunisia, demand almost tripled to 30,000 tonnes. Exports to Libya increased 37 times to 9,600 tonnes.

This year, first-time shipments of Russian sunflower oil went to ten African countries: Algeria (5,500 tonnes), Benin (128 tonnes), Mauritania (49 tonnes), Sierra Leone (25 tonnes), Tanzania (24 tonnes), and Ghana (24 tonnes). Small shipments were sent to Angola, Liberia, Morocco and Nigeria, Lozovoy said.

"Our estimates show that, by the end of the year, about 135,000 tonnes of sunflower oil will have been sent to Africa; in total, shipments for 2023 will reach 554,000 tonnes versus 235,000 tonnes in 2022," the analyst said.

At the same time, exports of soybean oil from Russia to Africa have decreased since the beginning of the year from 260,000 to 232,000 tonnes. The decline is due to a reduction in sales to key buyers: for example, shipments to Algeria "sank" 7%, to 139,000 tonnes, and there were no shipments to Tanzania and Tunisia, which were among the top 5 buyers last year, the analyst said. Meanwhile, exports to Egypt increased almost 15% to 93,000 tonnes.

By the end of the year, according to preliminary estimates, Russia will have sent 298,000 tonnes of soybean oil to Africa compared to 334,000 tonnes last year. Over 40% of domestically produced product intended for export goes in this direction, Lozovoy said.

"Currently, Russia mainly supplies vegetable oils to regions in North Africa, although in the future the export pool can be expanded by resolving logistics issues, since delivery to more remote regions, for example, Ghana or Tanzania, is still difficult," Lozovoy said. "In addition, the product range can also be expanded. Among the more promising export products is margarine, shipments of which to Africa are still insignificant not only due to the remoteness of key consumer regions on the continent, but because of the special temperature conditions required during transportation."