Egypt's state Holding Company for Food Industries (HCFI) said on Wednesday it had bought 15,000 tonnes of palm oil and 7,500 tonnes of palm stearin from trading house Willmar for arrival in May.
An HCFI official told Reuters that HCFI paid $587.00/tonne C&F for the palm oil and $534.00/tonne C+F for the palm stearin. Both were for shipment to Egypt's Mediterranean port of Alexandria.
HCFI said on March 30 it was seeking 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes of Malaysian or Indonesian palm oil and 5,000 to 7,500 tonnes of international palm stearin for arrival in May.
A trading source earlier said Willmar had offered 20,000 tonnes of palm oil in two equal consignments priced at $590/tonne and $595/tonne, but said HCFI might seek to negotiate final prices down.
The source said the oil had been bought for government subsidised products.
Crude palm oil is used to make margarine, and palm stearin is usually used to make soap or can also be used to make margarine, traders said.
Margarine is one of the items the government is adding to a subsidy ration card from May, along with rice, lentils, tea and macaroni. The card previously included sugar and vegetable oil.