In light of recent reports of cooking oil refineries running short of dollars to cover their imports, we decided to look at events shaping the global cooking oil industry. Kenya is Africa’s second-largest importer of crude palm oil after Egypt with the majority of the supply coming from Malaysia and Indonesia, 53.33% and 35.03% respectively in 2021. Vegetable oil is a highly imported commodity by most countries and as such is susceptible to global trading shocks.
Due to and during the ongoing crises, major vegetable oil exporters turned to protectionist policies to safeguard their food security. This has caused increased price volatility globally and increased the vulnerability of already food-insecure nations, especially in Africa.
