Malaysian Palm Oil Exports Performance to Sub-Saharan Africa Region
(January – March 2023)
A Review on MPO Export Performance
North Africa
Malaysian palm oil export to North Africa in the first quarter of 2023 recorded a marginal increase of only 1% against the same period of 2022. Most of the increase was recorded by Djibouti and Morocco. Other markets such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Tunisia and Libya were also recorded positive growth in imports of Malaysian palm oil.
| COUNTRY | Jan – Mar 2022 | Jan – Mar 2021 | Diff (Vol) | Diff (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egypt | 107,485 | 117,878 | (10,393) | -8.82% |
| 2 | Djibouti | 68,090 | 59,847 | 8,243 | 13.77% |
| 3 | Somalia | 19,565 | 19,180 | 385 | 2.01% |
| 4 | Morocco | 7,543 | 302 | 7,241 | 2395.16% |
| 5 | Algeria | 2,908 | 4,780 | (1,872) | -39.16% |
| 6 | Eritrea | 2,545 | 0 | 2,545 | |
| 7 | Sudan | 1,595 | 6,472 | (4,876) | -75.35% |
| 8 | Ethiopia | 1,028 | 789 | 239 | 30.34% |
| 9 | Tunisia | 564 | 106 | 458 | 430.22% |
| 10 | Libya | 338 | 173 | 165 | 95.54% |
| 211,661 | 209,527 | 2,135 | 1.02% |
On the other hand, Egypt, the leading importers of Malaysian palm oil in the North Africa region has recorded negative growth of 8.82% or 10,393 MT in imports of Malaysian palm oil. Economic slowdown particularly forex shortage has slowed down Egypt’s imports capabilities. Besides Egypt, Algeria and Sudan have also imported less Malaysian palm oil.
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 92% of the total Malaysian palm oil going into the North Africa market. The balance of 8% imported by the region comprised of RBD Palm stearin (2%), PFAD (1%) and others (1%).7,500 MT of CPO was imported by Morocco during this reviewed period. No RSPO Certified palm oil imported by the region in the first quarter of 2023.
Break down of MPO into North Africa Market
| PRODUCT | Jan – Mar 2022 | Jan – Mar 2021 | Diff (MT) | Diff (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPO | 7,500 | 0 | 7,500 | na |
| RBD PO | 55,247 | 35,252 | 19,995 | 56.72% |
| RBD PL | 76,376 | 113,929 | (37,552) | -32.96% |
| RBD PS | 5,355 | 16,508 | (11,153) | -67.56% |
| Cooking Oil | 63,016 | 36,892 | 26,124 | 70.81% |
| PFAD | 2,473 | 2,001 | 472 | 23.58% |
| RSPO Certified PO (RBD PO & RBD PL) | 0 | 2,331 | (2,331) | -100.00% |
| Others | 1,694 | 2,614 | (920) | -35.18% |
| 211,661 | 209,527 | 2,135 | 1.02% |
Despite being the most imported palm oil fraction, RBD Palm olein has recorded 33% dropped. 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 markets during the first quarter of 2023 was 710,250 MT, a 51% increase against the volume exported a year ago. Kenya is the leading importer of Malaysian palm oil in SSA imported almost 200,000 MT or 27.7% of the total MPO volume exported to the region. The volume is 10% higher than last year’s figure.
Most of other markets have also recorded an outstanding import growth in 2023 with the exception of Mozambique, South Africa, Guinea, Angola and Cameroon. Higher uptake of Malaysian palm oil in some markets were due to higher demand for CPO and CPL, Indonesia DMO and the upcoming Muslim festivals in April 2023.
Table 1: Top Importers of Malaysian Palm Oil from Sub-Saharan Africa (MT)
| COUNTRY | Jan – Mar 2023 | Jan – Mar 2022 | Diff (Vol) | Diff (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenya | 197,035 | 178,939 | 18,097 | 10.11% |
| 2 | Togo | 75,749 | 32,920 | 42,829 | 130.10% |
| 3 | Tanzania | 75,072 | 39,881 | 35,190 | 88.24% |
| 4 | Nigeria | 63,788 | 10,536 | 53,252 | 505.43% |
| 5 | Benin | 52,981 | 24,181 | 28,799 | 119.10% |
| 6 | Mozambique | 50,379 | 52,094 | (1,715) | -3.29% |
| 7 | Senegal | 38,367 | 24,815 | 13,551 | 54.61% |
| 8 | Ghana | 31,106 | 2,761 | 28,345 | 1026.69% |
| 9 | South Africa | 24,719 | 28,180 | (3,461) | -12.28% |
| 10 | Mauritania | 22,045 | 10,543 | 11,502 | 109.09% |
| 11 | Madagascar | 18,791 | 12,265 | 6,526 | 53.21% |
| 12 | Cote D’Ivoire | 12,486 | 1,754 | 10,732 | 611.96% |
| 13 | Guinea | 10,839 | 13,142 | (2,303) | -17.52% |
| 14 | Angola | 8,415 | 22,819 | (14,404) | -63.12% |
| 15 | Congo Dem. Rep. | 8,176 | 7,975 | 201 | 2.52% |
| 16 | Gambia | 7,586 | 1,668 | 5,918 | 354.84% |
| 17 | Cameroon | 3,582 | 4,135 | (553) | -13.38% |
| 18 | Liberia | 3,536 | 24 | 3,512 | 14397.42% |
| 19 | Niger | 1,768 | 74 | 1,694 | 2286.25% |
| 20 | Gabon | 1,709 | 0 | 1,709 | na |
| Others | 2,122 | 1,672 | 450 | 26.92% | |
| 710,250 | 470,379 | 239,871 | 51.00% | ||
| Source: MPOB | |||||
Crude palm oil (CPO, crude palm olein (CPL), and cooking oil are the main MPO palm oil products components going into the region. These three, accounted for 85% 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.
Table 2: Breakdown of MPO Exports Products to Sub-Saharan Africa (MT)
| PRODUCT | Jan – Mar 2022 | Jan – Mar 2021 | Diff (MT) | Diff (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPO | 156,571 | 107,790 | 48,781 | 45.26% |
| CPL | 289,406 | 103,050 | 186,355 | 180.84% |
| RBDPO | 5,715 | 10,135 | (4,420) | -43.61% |
| RBD PL | 55,505 | 77,709 | (22,205) | -28.57% |
| RBD PS | 12,801 | 34,707 | (21,906) | -63.12% |
| Cooking Oil | 156,859 | 102,260 | 54,599 | 53.39% |
| RSPO Certified Palm Oil (RBD PO AND RBD PL) | 1,025 | 1,250 | (225) | -17.99% |
| PFAD | 29,893 | 32,046 | (2,153) | -6.72% |
| Others | 2,474 | 1,430 | 1,044 | 73.03% |
| 710,250 | 470,378 | 239,872 | 51.00% | |
| Source: MPOB | ||||
For more info please contact Mrs. Fatimah
Email : fatimah@mpoc.org.my
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