Global Post | 9 April 2013

Egypt aims to become self-sufficient in sunflower oil by using farmland provided by neighbouring Sudan as it moves to end large purchases on world markets, Supply Minister Bassem Ouda said yesterday.

He said private Egyptian investors would plant sunflower on 500,000 feddan (210,000 hectares) of land earmarked for joint agricultural projects under a deal reached by Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi and Sudanese President Hassan Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum last Friday.

Production will start within a few months and enable Egypt to phase out imports, which consume scarce hard currency reserves.

With foreign investment stalled and tourism receipts down due to two years of political unrest since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt is seeking to reduce purchases of commodities for hard currency.

Egypt, the most populous Arab state, is a major importer of vegetable oils.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/asianet/130409/egypt-aims-become-self-sufficient-sunflower-oil-using-farmland-provided