Oiling squeaky wheels of trade
China must take effective measures to gain more pricing power in the international palm oil market to prevent it from being harmed by major producers amid growing uncertainties in global agricultural trade, said industry experts.
6m tons of palm oil imported in 2013 to meet rising demand
The widening supply gap of domestic edible oil and decreasing oil cropland have forced China, the world's second-largest palm oil importer after India, to purchase more palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia in recent years and increasingly deploy its money outside the country to meet the surging demand.
"Despite the fact that the Chinese government imposed more stringent inspections on foreign shipments to avert smuggled agricultural products early last year, China's demand for palm oil will remain high along with the fast development of China's oil pressing industry," said Ren Changqing, a professor at the Center of Futures and Financial Derivatives at Beijing-based China Agricultural University.
China imported 6 million metric tons of palm oil from the world market in 2013, about 5 percent less than the previous year, according to the General Administration of Customs.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, an international organization to promote the use of palm oil produced by existing plantations that does not involve cutting down additional forests, believes China's demand for palm oil will continue to grow.
"Palm oil is already China's No 1 imported vegetable oil, and demand is expected to grow by approximately 10 percent per year in the coming years, reaching 8.6 million tons and 12 million tons in 2015 and 2020, respectively," said Darrel Webber, secretary-general of the Kuala Lumpur-headquartered roundtable.
"As global shortages of agricultural resources become an increasingly pressing issue, it is especially important for demand markets to ensure the predictability of supply," said Webber.
The widening supply gap of domestic edible oil and decreasing oil cropland have forced China, the world's second-largest palm oil importer after India, to purchase more palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia in recent years and increasingly deploy its money outside the country to meet the surging demand.
"Despite the fact that the Chinese government imposed more stringent inspections on foreign shipments to avert smuggled agricultural products early last year, China's demand for palm oil will remain high along with the fast development of China's oil pressing industry," said Ren Changqing, a professor at the Center of Futures and Financial Derivatives at Beijing-based China Agricultural University.
China imported 6 million metric tons of palm oil from the world market in 2013, about 5 percent less than the previous year, according to the General Administration of Customs.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, an international organization to promote the use of palm oil produced by existing plantations that does not involve cutting down additional forests, believes China's demand for palm oil will continue to grow.
"Palm oil is already China's No 1 imported vegetable oil, and demand is expected to grow by approximately 10 percent per year in the coming years, reaching 8.6 million tons and 12 million tons in 2015 and 2020, respectively," said Darrel Webber, secretary-general of the Kuala Lumpur-headquartered roundtable.
"As global shortages of agricultural resources become an increasingly pressing issue, it is especially important for demand markets to ensure the predictability of supply," said Webber.
