Egypt Vegetable Oil Market — Demand, Imports & Refining 2026
Egypt vegetable oil market — 2.5+ million MT/year demand, 75% import-dependent, key sources from Indonesia (palm), Argentina/Brazil (soybean), Ukraine/Russia (sunflower). Refining capacity, HS codes, and procurement guidance.
Egypt Vegetable Oil Market — 2026 Overview
Demand profile
Egypt has one of the highest per-capita edible-oil consumption rates in the Middle East — ~22 kg/person/year, driven by traditional Egyptian cooking (heavy frying, baladi bread soft-fat content, foul medames preparation). Total domestic demand sits at 2.5–2.8 million MT/year of vegetable oils combined.
Breakdown by oil type (2025 estimated volumes):
| Oil | Volume (MT/year) | Share | Primary use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palm oil (CPO + olein + stearin) | 1.3 million | 48% | Frying, bakery, margarine |
| Soybean oil | 600,000 | 22% | Bottle retail, food service |
| Sunflower oil | 350,000 | 13% | Premium retail, salad oil |
| Cottonseed oil (domestic) | 180,000 | 7% | Subsidized supply, baladi food |
| Corn oil | 110,000 | 4% | Premium retail |
| Olive oil (mainly domestic) | 65,000 | 2% | Cooking, retail |
| Other (canola, peanut, sesame) | 110,000 | 4% | Specialty, ethnic |
Market at a glance
| Metric | Value | Source / year |
|---|---|---|
| Per-capita consumption | ~22 kg/person/year | 2026 brief |
| Total demand | 2.5–2.8 million MT/year | 2026 brief |
| Import dependence | ~75 % by volume | 2026 brief |
| Oil mix (2025 est.) | Palm 48 % · soybean 22 % · sunflower 13 % · cottonseed 7 % · corn 4 % · olive 2 % · other 4 % | 2026 brief |
| Top suppliers (2024–2025) | Indonesia 45 % · Argentina 18 % · Russia 12 % · Ukraine 8 % · Brazil 7 % · Malaysia 5 % · Turkey 2 % | 2026 brief |
| Refining capacity | ~3 million MT/year across ~12 plants | 2026 brief |
| Quality standards | Codex CXS 19, Egyptian ES 49 | 2026 brief |
| Parcel sizes | 2,000–6,000 MT crude parcels; GASC tenders 30,000–50,000 MT Handymax | 2026 brief |
| Entry ports | Ain Sokhna (EGSOK), Damietta (EGDAM), Alexandria (EGALY) | 2026 brief |
Import dependence
~75% import-dependent by volume. Domestic production from cottonseed and a small olive sector cannot meet demand. Egypt has no oil palm or large-scale soybean cultivation. Sunflower is mostly imported as crude oil; some imported sunflower seed crushes occur in Egyptian crushing plants.
Top supplier countries (2024–2025 average)
Refining infrastructure
Egypt has ~3 million MT/year of edible-oil refining capacity across ~12 industrial plants. Key clusters:
Refining steps: degumming → neutralization → bleaching (clay) → deodorization (steam distillation at 240°C, 2–6 mbar). Output meets Codex Alimentarius CXS 19 and Egyptian standard ES 49.
HS codes for trade compliance
Supply options from EGG
| Product | Grade / spec headline | Standard | MOQ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soybean oil RBD | HS 1507.90, Argentina / Brazil | ISO 22000, HACCP, SGS, Halal | 100 MT |
| Crude sunflower oil degummed | HS 1512.11, Ukraine / Russia | ISO 22000, HACCP, SGS, Halal | 100 MT |
| Refined sunflower oil bottled | HS 1512.19, Ukraine / Egypt | ISO 22000, HACCP, SGS, Halal | 100 MT |
| Crude palm oil CPO | HS 1511.10, Malaysia / Indonesia | ISO 22000, HACCP, SGS, Halal | 100 MT |
| Sunflower seed high oil · rapeseed canola · soybean non-GMO · Egyptian sesame | Crushing feedstock | ISO 22000, HACCP, Halal | 5–100 MT |
| Edible oils catalogue · oilseeds · palm oil market brief · food processing applications | — | — | — |
Trade & logistics
Crude oil imports arrive as bulk parcel-tanker shipments (2,000–6,000 MT lots) at Ain Sokhna and Damietta. Refined imports more often in drums or flexitanks. Domestic distribution is by insulated road tanker (refineries → wholesale) and PET bottling (refineries → retail).
GASC tender shipments often run 30,000–50,000 MT in a single Handymax vessel for soybean and sunflower oil, with delivery split across Damietta and Alexandria.
How Egypt Globe Group fits
Egypt Globe Group's Pelot Trading arm coordinates edible-oil import logistics: connecting Argentina/Brazil/Ukraine/Russia origin shippers with Egyptian refiners and the GASC tender process, plus L/C structuring, freight tank-tanker chartering, and Sokhna/Damietta tankage coordination.
QA and reliability
Egypt Globe Group positions itself as your verified, long-term supply-chain ally: incorporated 2014 with an internal Quality Assurance division at its nucleus, ISO 9001:2015 across all divisions, and uncompromising QA verification from extraction to destination port. Every lot is tested at the loading-port laboratory and the Certificate of Analysis or Mill Test Certificate is issued before the Bill of Lading; lots outside specification are rejected at the loading port, never re-graded or renegotiated. Independent inspection by TÜV Austria, SGS, Intertek or Bureau Veritas (all ISO/IEC 17020 + 17025) is available on every shipment, laycans are run with documented NOR / SOF, and the specification is guaranteed at the port of loading under the sales contract — see inspection & quality control, trade documentation and quality & compliance. Edible-oil parcels are surveyed at load and discharge by the independent partners (FFA, peroxide value, moisture, colour, quantity by ullage) and matched to Codex CXS 19 / ES 49 before release to the refinery or the GASC tender.
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