Malaysian Palm Oil Exports Performance to Sub-Saharan Africa Region
(January – April 2023)
A Review on MPO Export Performance
North Africa
Malaysian palm oil export to North Africa during Jan – Apr 2023 recorded a slight decrease of about 2% or by 5,210 MT against the same period of 2022 which was due to a decline in import by Egypt. However, there were improvements in the imports of MPO by Djibouti, Somalia and Morocco as the current attractive price has seen demand for palm oil in these countries increase.
| COUNTRY | Jan – Apr 2023 | Jan – Apr 2022 | Diff (Vol) | Diff (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egypt | 120,834 | 139,025 | (18,191) | -13.1% |
| 2 | Djibouti | 95,948 | 87,775 | 8,173 | 9.3% |
| 3 | Somalia | 25,970 | 24,679 | 1,292 | 5.2% |
| 4 | Morocco | 7,620 | 389 | 7,231 | 1,860.3% |
| 5 | Algeria | 4,193 | 5,417 | (1,224) | -22.6% |
| 6 | Eritrea | 3,065 | 0 | 3,065 | |
| 7 | Sudan | 1,743 | 6,547 | (4,804) | -73.4% |
| 8 | Ethiopia | 1,591 | 3,060 | (1,469) | -48.0% |
| 9 | Tunisia | 564 | 106 | 458 | 430.2% |
| 10 | Libya | 433 | 173 | 260 | 150.4% |
| 261,961 | 267,170 | (5,210) | -1.9% |
The lower import by Egypt which dropped by 13% or 18,191 MT was due to higher imports of competing soft oils imports such as soybean, sunflower and corn oils. The current lower spread between palm oil and sunflower oil prices of US$150 per MT against February price have attracted Egyptian buyers to buy, more sunflower oil.[1]
Breakdown of Malaysian Palm Oil Export
RBD PL, RBD PO and Cooking Oil were three major components of Malaysian palm oil imported by the region and these three products accounted for 91% of the total Malaysian palm oil going into the North Africa market. The balance of 9% imported by the region comprised of RBD Palm stearin (3%), PFAD (1%) and others (1%).7,500 MT or 3% of CPO was imported by Morocco during this reviewed period. 1% or 3,800MT of RSPO Certified palm oil imported by the region during Jan – April 2023.
Break down of MPO into North Africa Market
| PRODUCT | Jan – Apr 2023 | Jan – Apr 2022 | Diff (MT) | Diff (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crude Palm Oil | 7,500 | – | 7,500 | na |
| RBD PO | 66,662 | 48,244 | 18,419 | 38.2% |
| RBD PL | 93,251 | 136,317 | (43,065) | -31.6% |
| RBD PS | 8,679 | 18,918 | (10,240) | -54.1% |
| Cooking Oil | 77,166 | 56,514 | 20,652 | 36.5% |
| PFAD | 2,509 | 2,001 | 508 | 25.4% |
| RSPO Certified PO (RBD PO & RBD PL) | 3,800 | 2,481 | 1,318 | 53.1% |
| Others | 2,394 | 2,696 | (302) | -11.2% |
| 261,961 | 267,170 | (5,210) | -1.9% |
Despite being the most imported palm oil fraction, RBD Palm olein has recorded a 32% decline. Slowdown in Egypt imports has reflected in the reduction of RBD palm olein imports in the North Africa market.
Sub-Sahara Africa
Malaysian palm oil exported to Sub Sahara Africa region during the Jan-Apr 2023 period was recorded at 965,630 MT, an impressive increase of 54% increase against the volume exported a year ago. Kenya is the leading importer of Malaysian palm oil in SSA with a volume of 255,253 MT which is 27,732 MT or 12.2% higher compared to the same period of 2022. Kenya’s import of MPO also represents 26.4% of the total MPO volume exported to the region.
With the exception of Angola and Cameroon, most of other countries such as Tanzania, Togo, Ghana, South Africa and Benin have also recorded impressive import growth in 2023. Nigeria, despite being a palm oil producing country also saw higher imports of MPO and this was due to a lower than expected production in 2023 as well as lower imports of palm oil from Indonesia.
Table 1: Top Importers of Malaysian Palm Oil from Sub-Saharan Africa (MT)
| COUNTRY | Jan – Apr 2023 | Jan – Apr 2022 | Diff (Vol) | Diff (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenya | 255,253 | 227,521 | 27,732 | 12.2% |
| 2 | Tanzania | 95,766 | 82,411 | 13,354 | 16.2% |
| 3 | Nigeria | 92,961 | 20,513 | 72,448 | 353.2% |
| 4 | Togo | 85,588 | 39,010 | 46,578 | 119.4% |
| 5 | Mozambique | 78,904 | 60,094 | 18,811 | 31.3% |
| 6 | Benin | 67,324 | 25,197 | 42,127 | 167.2% |
| 7 | Senegal | 62,939 | 29,131 | 33,808 | 116.1% |
| 8 | South Africa | 53,196 | 32,135 | 21,061 | 65.5% |
| 9 | Ghana | 34,021 | 2,837 | 31,184 | 1,099.3% |
| 10 | Madagascar | 31,349 | 27,755 | 3,594 | 12.9% |
| 11 | Mauritania | 29,768 | 11,425 | 18,343 | 160.6% |
| 12 | Cote D’Ivoire | 16,933 | 2,972 | 13,961 | 469.7% |
| 13 | Guinea | 16,525 | 13,560 | 2,965 | 21.9% |
| 14 | Congo Dem. Rep. | 11,319 | 9,669 | 1,650 | 17.1% |
| 15 | Angola | 9,391 | 33,042 | (23,651) | -71.6% |
| 16 | Gambia | 8,174 | 2,844 | 5,330 | 187.4% |
| 17 | Liberia | 4,367 | 924 | 3,443 | 372.5% |
| 18 | Cameroon | 3,839 | 4,135 | (296) | -7.2% |
| 19 | Niger | 2,873 | 74 | 2,798 | 3776.0% |
| 20 | Gabon | 1,826 | 0 | 1,826 | |
| 21 | Mauritius | 1,263 | 730 | 533 | 72.9% |
| 965,630 | 627,399 | 338,232 | 53.9% | ||
| Source: MPOB | |||||
Crude palm oil (CPO, crude palm olein (CPL), and cooking oil are the main fractions of MPO palm oil products components going into the region. These three, accounted for 58.4% of the total palm oil imported by the region. Both CPO and CPL are the preferred oil in the region with import ratio of 88:12. The abolishment of import duty on crude products in market such as Tanzania has encouraged more imports of CPO and CPL by the country.
Cooking oil accounted for 218,578 MT or 23% of the total palm oil imported by the region. Benin, Togo, Mauritania, Tanzania, Cote D’Ivoire, Kenya and Senegal are among the major importers of cooking oil in Africa.
Table 2: Breakdown of MPO Exports Products to Sub-Saharan Africa (MT)
| PRODUCT | Jan – Apr 2023 | Jan – Apr 2022 | Diff (MT) | Diff (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPO | 190,003 | 135,289 | 54,714 | 40.4% |
| CPL | 374,602 | 148,871 | 225,731 | 151.6% |
| RBDPO | 24,516 | 10,316 | 14,200 | 137.7% |
| RBD PL | 84,768 | 117,213 | -32,445 | -27.7% |
| RBD PS | 27,020 | 37,805 | -10,785 | -28.5% |
| Cooking Oil | 218,578 | 131,731 | 86,847 | 65.9% |
| RSPO Certified Palm Oil (RBD PO AND RBD PL) | 1,547 | 1,600 | -53 | -3.3% |
| PFAD | 40,149 | 41,416 | -1,267 | -3.1% |
| Others | 4,447 | 3,157 | 1,290 | 40.9% |
| 965,630 | 627,399 | 338,232 | 53.9% | |
| Source: MPOB | ||||
For more info please contact Mrs. Fatimah
Email : fatimah@mpoc.org.my
[1] https://graintrade.com.ua/en/novosti/egipet-pridbav-sonyashnikovu-oliyu-za-tcinoyu-na-150-t-nizhchoyu-nizh-u-lyutomu.html
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