Wang Hanzhong, director of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences’ Oil Crops Research Institute, said China’s self-sufficiency in edible oils is now 34%, lower than the government’s aim of 40%. He told an industry conference this is considered quite dangerous.
Cooking oil, widely used by most households, is a poster child for the government’s campaign to curb inflation. Officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planning agency, told food producers to refrain from raising cooking oil prices until the Lunar New Year is over.
Companies would have to apply to the commission if they want to raise prices during this period, local media said. Cooking oil prices jumped 13% in October. However, prices have since weakened, with China last week announcing its seventh annual record harvest.
IIFL reported that the country’s annual harvest rose 2.9% from last year to reach 546.4 million metric tons.
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