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MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA
Region on the rise The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region presents opportunities for the oils and fats sector due to increasing geopolitical stability in the area and growth in consumer demand linked to a rising population Gill Langham
24 OFI – JULY/AUGUST 2022
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Stretching from Iran in the East to Tunisia and Morocco in the West, the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region – with its rising population and subsequent increase in demand for oils and fats – offers growth opportunities for the sector. Comprising 25 countries with a population of almost 700M people, representing about 10% of the global population, the MENA region spans three continents and has a culturally diverse demographic. It also has vast reserves of oil and natural gas. Although there is no specific way to define the MENA region, the general understanding is that it includes Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen.
Opportunities
The opportunities for packaged oil and speciality fats in the MENA region, were discussed by Sandeep Singh, the founder and director of trading consultancy The Farm Trade, in his presentation at the Palm Oil Internet Seminar (POINTERS) webinar hosted by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council’s (MPOC) on 28 March-1 April. With a focus on palm oil demand and Malaysia’s market share, Singh joined a panel of industry experts to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing
the sector, against a backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising freight rates, and record high palm oil prices. Topics covered included major markets in the MENA region and the overall demand for oils and fats. His discussion also focused on the shift to local packaging at destination and the benefits of developing long-term partnerships. The harsh terrain in some areas of the region did not support the production of agricultural commodities, he said. Apart from the problematic terrain issues in some of the region, regional conflicts in the area have also been driving food and commodity price increases, he said. “Conflict is driving MENA’s food security problems. “Technological change and trade development need to be much faster to prevent food insecurity from worsening in the near term.”
Potential for growth
The region is heavily dependant on imports to supplement domestic demand for oils and fats, Singh said, and would remain so in the medium and long-term. With a good population growth rate, the second fastest globally just behind Sub-Saharan Africa, the region presents opportunities for expansion in the sector. u
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25/07/2022 14:13:43
