South Africa’s oils and fats manufacturing sector is dominated by vegetable oils and fat, and sunflower oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil in the country. South Africa is a net importer of edible oils, which include sunflower, soybean and palm oil as it does not produce enough to meet demand.
Why are essential and vegetable oil exports a problem in South Africa?
Consistency of production volumes and the quality of the oils have been cited as key barriers to exploiting South Africa’s essential and vegetable oil export potential.
Can vegetable seed oil be dried in South Africa?
Contamination through foreign matter, weeds, or other undesired plants can have a detrimental effect on the quality and acceptability of the final oils. Although experiments on drying harvested vegetable seed oil material have been tried, it is not prevalent in South Africa.
Does South Africa have a market for essential and vegetable oils?
Despite South Africa’s advantage to meet the growing global demand for essential and vegetable oils, only a fraction of South Africa’s potential essential and vegetable oils are being exported to regional and international markets.