Khaled Hanafi, Minister of
Supply, announced yesterday Egypt will import 89.000 tons of edible oil,
adding that this quantity and the residual stock will fulfill the national
demand for a period of six months. The population growth is now one of the cause
of the continuous shortage of edible oil that Minister of supply is trying to
face. The per capita consumption of edible oil and greases is of about 13 kg
per year.
The oils to be purchased are
soybean oil (61 tons) and sunflower oil (28 tons). These imported oils probably
will fill the gap left by the increased consumption and population but these
kind of purchases could represent a short term solution but Egyptian
politicians must be determined to think about a long term strategy in order to
solve radically the issue.
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| A camel near Giza Pyramids |
According to some declarations of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the president Al-Sisi has expressed his strong personal commitment to support a project for the plantation of trees over a surface of 1 million of feddan, more than 400,000 hectares in different governorates from Sinai to Wadi Natrun. This project could represent a big blow against unemployment and could enhance the socio-economic conditions of many rural areas while giving to local populations healthy food.
Indeed olive oil is
universally considered an oil with high nutritional value, considerably
superior to other edible oil mentioned before. Olive oil is a natural
product, it is extracted only by mechanical extraction and no external chemical
additive is added in the process.
Probably, for its climate and
its history, Egypt’s soil could be a good location for olive cultivation. Olive
trees are widespread in the North Western, especially in oasis, and North
Eastern area like in Sinai or El-Arish, allowing Egypt to be the third producer
of table olives in the world, with a yearly output of 400.000 tons circa .
Furthermore olive cultivation
in Egypt is a very remote activity, known since the time of the Pharaos. Due to
the nature of the olive tree adaptable and resilient to the dryness, Egyptian’s
sole must be considered as an ideal habitat where to grow olives.
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