China buys less edible oil from abroad

Edible oil arrivals in China declined 3.9 percent year-on-year to 7.41 million tonnes in the first 11 months of 2008, as domestic demand weakened upon international financial crisis, the General Administration of Customs said on Wednesday.

The imports were valued at 8.47 billion U.S. dollars, up 50.5 percent over the year-earlier level.

Palm oil claimed a 60.5-percent share of China's total edible oil arrivals with an import volume of 4.13 million tonnes, up 1 percent. The growth rate was 6.1 percentage points below the year-earlier level.

Approximately 63.4 percent of the edible oil imports, or 4.7 million tonnes, came from ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members, up 0.7 percent.

Foreign-funded companies accounted for 46.7 percent of China's total edible oil imports. They bought 3.46 million tonnes, down 17.2 percent.