Egypt bought a large batch of vegetable oils, including sunflower oil - $65/t cheaper than at the beginning of February

Last week, the state-owned Egyptian operator GASC bought 79,000 tons of soybean and sunflower oil at an international tender for delivery on April 1-20, increasing purchases against the background of falling global prices. At the same time, sunflower oil prices have a significant discount compared to soybean oil, despite forecasts of a reduction in supply in the 3rd quarter due to a decrease in the sunflower harvest in Ukraine and the Russian Federation in 2022.

In particular, 52,000 tons of soybean oil were purchased with payment deferred for 180 days:

• 18,000 t at InterGrain SA at a price of $1,325/t S&F,
• 28 thousand t in Aston Agro Industrial SA at a price of $1,325/t S&F,
• 6,000 tons at Green Suppliers at a price of $1,325/t S&F.

Also, 27,000 tons of sunflower oil were contracted on terms of quick payment:

• 17 thousand t in Agric SA at a price of $1,170/t S&F,
• 10,000 t at the Oliva AD company at a price of $1,170/t S&F.

Compared to previous trades, sunflower oil prices fell by $66.4/t S&F, and soybean oil by only $5/t S&F amid a significant supply of cheap Ukrainian sunflower on the markets of Bulgaria and Romania, which increases the discount on sunflower oil.

The restoration of the grain corridor will allow Ukrainian traders to supply sunflower oil and meal to Asian markets, which will change prices on the world market. At the start of Q3, markets will experience a supply shortage of sunflower oil and the premium over soybean and palm oil will rise again.

We will remind that at the tender on January 31, GASC purchased the following batches of oil with payment within 180 days:

• 19,000 tons of soybean oil at the Aston Agro Industrial SA company at a price of $1,330/t S&F,
• 10,000 tons of sunflower oil from the Cargill company at a price of $1236.4/t S&F,
• 6 thousand tons of soybean oil from the local company Soiven at a price of $1,499.5/t S&F.

In addition, GASC previously acquired:

• at the December 29 tender - 30,000 tons of soybean oil from the LDC company at a price of $1,415/t S&F and 12,000 tons of sunflower oil from the Egyptian African company at a price of $1,330/t S&F,
• at the November 21 tender – 30.75 tons of sunflower oil at a price of $1,380/t S&F and 35,000 tons of soybean oil at a price of $1,475/t S&F of Bulgarian production with delivery in January,
• at the beginning of November - 6 thousand tons of sunflower oil at a price of $1,474/t S&F with delivery in December,
• at the end of October - 14,000 tons of soybean oil at a price of $1,600/t S&F.