Egypt adopts plan to increase oil domestic production as imports hit 97%

CAIRO 9 February 2023: Egypt imports about 97 percent of plant-based oils to meet the needs of the local market, which necessitated the development of a plan to reduce the imported amount, according to the Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, Ali Al-Moselhi.

 

Moselhi said, during the inauguration of the second phase of the city of food industries, "Silo Foods", that a plan was drawn up during the current year including planting 250,000 feddans of soybeans and 100,000 feddans of sunflowers to increase local production.

 

He added that the plan also includes approving the development of oil factories, which are being offered, noting that Egypt's reserves of oils are sufficient for 4.9 months.

 

The minister stressed that a storage capacity has been added to the oil depots, which helped absorb shocks due to the presence of a strategic reserve of oils.

 

Previously, the cabinet announced that Egypt aims to grow more than 750,000 feddans of oily plants during 2024, to reduce oil imports and rely on local alternatives.

 

“We aim to reach 500,000 feddans in the cotton-cultivated area next year, because of its high percentage of oils, as the cotton-cultivated area this year amounted to 320,000 feddans,” according to what was confirmed by the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Al-Sayed el-Quseir.

 

The government is looking to expand the production of oil locally by increasing the cultivation of oil crops, by providing the required seeds, as well as encouraging contract farming with the aim of providing products to citizens.

 

“About 100,000 feddans of corn will be cultivated in 2023, and this area will increase to 500,000 feddans next year, and 90,000 feddans of sunflower will be cultivated in 2023, and it is scheduled to increase to 250,000 feddans next year,” the Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouli said.

 

The oil industry in Egypt relies on importing about 96 percent of the oils used in production, and the 4 percent is provided locally, as the number of companies producing oils in Egypt is 40 factories.

 

Silo Foods, affiliated to the National Service Projects Organization (NSPO), is the first and only food industrial city in the Middle East in terms of being the most integrated and best equipped, as it aims to provide a wide range of food products with high quality and standards.

 

The second phase includes the dairy, cheese, halva, tahini and biscuit factory, the printing complex and the central laboratory. With the aim of providing the citizen's needs within the local markets and exporting abroad to provide hard currency, and developing the school feeding system.