Russia Wants To Produce Sunflower Oil In Egypt For Resale To African Markets

Russia is interested in setting up production of sunflower oil in Egypt, with the issue raised during a Russian delegation’s visit to Cairo, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, who led the delegation.

He said that “We have very active cooperation in agriculture with Egypt, which buys ours, and we’re discussing setting up sunflower oil processing here.”

On Tuesday, September 16, Overchuk held meetings with Mostafa Madbouly, the Egyptian Prime Minister; Kamel Al-Wazir, the Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Industry; and Hassan El-Khatib, the Foreign Trade Minister.

Russia exported more than US$3 billion worth of agricultural products to Egypt in 2024, 20% more than in the previous year, according to Russia’s Agroexport Centre. The main export commodity was wheat, which accounted for 84% of these exports. Sunflower oil made up 13%, soybean oil 2%, and dried lentils and chickpeas each made up less than 1%.

Egypt’s role as a logistics and investment hub in North Africa and the Middle East is very important for Russian foreign trade, as Egypt is part of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which gives free trade access at zero or significantly reduced intra-African trade tariffs. Sunflower oil is used extensively in African cooking; however, the continent does not produce enough to meet demand. Russia is one of the world’s largest producers and has extensive sunflower farming and oil production capabilities. Rather than ship the finished product to Africa, where it would be subjected to import duties, it makes more commercial sense to produce it in Africa and then access continental markets directly.

Egypt is also in the process of commencing negotiations for a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union.