Why Egypt?
The first largest international event organized by APK-Inform Agency was held inSharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt in February 2006. Being the largest sales market and world importernumber one, Egypt has been constantly increasing its share on the global stage:
● 1 st place in world wheat imports (12.5 mln tonnes)
● 4 th place in world corn imports (15 mln tonnes)
● Active rise in imports of soybeans (3.3 mln tonnes in the season-2018/19 against 1.3 mln tonnes in 2015/16) and sunflower oil (0.5 mln tonnes against 0.3 mlntonnes respectively).
Such dependence on the world suppliers makes Egypt one of the key sales markets ofgrains for Ukraine and Russia and in light of recent events – soybeans from the USA. Population growth only contributes to increasing purchases on world markets, not only in Egypt, but the MENA region as a whole. In particular, the import of soybean oil North Africa is growing in direct proportion to domestic production and consumption and is estimatedat the level of 1.59 mln tonnes in the past season. At the same time, the Middle East is activelyincreasing purchases of sunflower oil - 1.7 mln tonnes were imported in 2017/18 MY, includingabout 700 000 tonnes of Ukrainian oil.
The season-2018/19 is another test for both importers and exporters of both the grain andoilseeds markets. Middle East Grains&Oils Congress will provide an excellent opportunity todiscuss and comprehend the main events of the season, their causes and consequences, to predictthe situation of the next marketing year.
