Egypt to import 90,000 tons of cooking oil

CAIRO – 23 February 2017: Egypt has signed deals to import 60,000 tons of sunflower oil and 30,000 tons of soybean oil, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali El-Sayed Ali El-Moselhi said,

according to state-owned Al-Ahram

.

The new import agreement is part of a government effort to bolster the supply of commercial goods to "increase stocks of strategic commodities and provide citizens' needs at reasonable prices in a way that achieves market balance and stability," El-Moselhi said.

There is currently no word on where the oil will be imported from, when it will be delivered, or what it will cost.

In January, the ministry increased prices of subsidized oil from EGP 10 to 12 per 0.8 liter bottle. The price increase was attributed to increases in global markets and the depreciation of the Egyptian Pound against the dollar. Egypt imports 97 percent of food oil consumed.

Egypt’s current cooking oil stocks are enough for the next five months, according to El-Moselhi.