Egypt is making heavy purchases of soyaoil to replace expensive sunflower oil with Argentina and Brazil winning major new soyaoil sales, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said on Tuesday. Egypt may import about 290,000 tonnes of soyaoil in January-May 2011, up from 157,000 tonnes in the same year-ago period, Oil World said.
"Soyaoil import demand from Egypt is on the rise," Oil World said. "Combined soyaoil exports from Argentina and Brazil to Egypt reached a record 99,000 tonnes in April, up from 42,000 in March and 45,000 tonnes (in April) a year ago." Paraguay is also gaining business and will ship 25,000 tonnes of soyaoil to Egypt in May, it said.
"In recent months the demand for soyaoil benefited from improved price competitiveness," it said. Egypt's January-May 2011 sunflower oil imports are likely to fall to 160,000-170,000 tonnes from 211,000 tonnes in the same time a year ago, Oil World said. Argentine soyaoil is about $40 a tonne cheaper than South American sunflower oil, Oil World data showed. Black Sea region sunoil is as much as $100 a tonne more expensive than Argentine soyaoil following poor Black Sea harvests last year.