BEIJING, April 26 (Reuters) - China,
a major consumer of vegetable oils, recently bought a small volume of rapeseed
oil from Europe for the first time in two years as it was cheaper than domestic
prices, the China National Grain and Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC) said.
Chinese buyers have stepped up
rapeseed oil imports this year to cash in on the favourable price difference
with domestic prices soaring on the back of a government stockpiling policy
designed to boost farmer incomes.
China bought 50,000 tonnes of the
edible oil at a price of about $1,220 to $1,240 per tonne, including cost,
insurance and freight, for delivery in July and August, the CNGOIC said in a report
posted on its website.
The centre did not identify the
country, but added that the deal with Europe was the first since 2010, when
China imported a total of 20,000 tonnes from Ukraine and Russia.
China's rapeseed oil imports in the
first quarter this year jumped 69 percent on the year to 387,234 tonnes, the
majority of which came from Canada, official customs data showed.
The most-active domestic rapeseed
oil futures reached an almost two-month top of 9,930
yuan ($1,600) per tonne on Friday as the market expected Beijing to raise its
purchase price for the new crop due in June, traders said.
The government has also suspended
weekly sales of stockpiled rapeseed oil that began in early March, with prices
still too high.
