January 16, 2012

 

 

China will encourage domestic companies to develop overseas oilseed resources and establish overseas oil processing facilities, part of its efforts to ensure increasing domestic demand for edible oils.

 

Meanwhile, the government is aiming to increase domestic output of oils from rapeseed, peanuts, cotton (for cottonseed oil) and sunflowers as well as to promote the development of oil production from corn, rice bran and other plants to reduce its dependence on imports, according to a government development plan.

 

China is the world's largest soy importer, accounting for about 60% of the global soy trade. Meanwhile, the nation's edible oil self-sufficiency rate is lower than a government-set threshold of 40%.

 

China is aiming to produce 24.4 million tonnes of edible oils by 2015, 12.6 million tonnes of which, or about 52% of the target output, is to be made from locally produced oilseeds, according to the development plan jointly issued Thursday (Jan 12) by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

 

The country produced 20.1 million tonnes of edible oils in 2010, the NDRC said.

 

The government will limit annual oilseed processing capacity at 180 million tonnes by 2015, with soy crushing capacity to be kept below 95 million tonnes, according to the development plan.

 

Soy crushing is facing serious overcapacity problems in China. Its capacity is expected to rise to 125 million tonnes by the end of 2012, an increase of about 10 million tonnes compared with end-2011, according to incomplete statistics from the state-backed China National Grain & Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC).

 

China will strictly control new soy crushing capacity and shut down outdated facilities, according to the development plan.

 

Yihai Kerry Investment Co, the Chinese subsidiary of Singapore-based Wilmar International Ltd, is the top oilseed crusher in the country, with its market share of the retail edible oil market exceeding 50%.

 

Other major crushers include COFCO Group, Cargill and Bunge.

 

In 2011, China consumed about 27.5 million tonnes of edible oils, with only 40% made from local oilseeds, the CNGOIC said.