Magazines Archives - 2007 December

China’s soybean-oil imports to double in 2008
Story 12

CHINA’S imports of soybean oil is expected to double in volume over the next year, from its current figure of 25%, in light of the growing demand for the commodity in the country. According to Wang Yinji, deputy general manager of local importer and exporter COFCO Ltd, imports will make up 45% of the international soybean trade volume, as local farmers reduce their harvest as a result of rising prices.

Over the past 10 months, China’s soybean imports grew by 4.5% over the same period last year, to 24.54 million tonnes, according to the National Grain & Oil Trade Centre. Currently, Argentina is the largest soybean exporter to China, expecting to export about 6.2 million tonnes by year-end. However, a recent increase in the country’s export tariff from 27.5% to 35% may affect future exports to China.

Wang pointed out that per-capita consumption of vegetable oil in China is 17kg annually, below the world average, as compared with 25kg in Taiwan and 40kg in the US. Based on that observation, Wang said: “Therefore, we can expect the domestic cooking-oil market to expand rapidly in the coming years.” Another factor contributing to the growth of imports is the anticipated decline in the country’s domestic soybean production by about 300,000 tonnes to 14.3 millon tonnes in November this year.

Cheng Guogiang, deputy director of the Development Research Centre of China’s State Council, said that a key factor in increased consumption is rapid urbanisation. According to Customs data, import of vegetable oils grew by 27% over the past 10 months of 2007 to seven million tonnes as compared with last year. Cheng, however, added : “It’s not just vegetable oils, China’s demand for all agricultural products is [also] entering a fast-expanding phase.”