BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- China will see an ample supply of edible vegetable oil despite sharp decline in canola seed imports caused by strengthened customs quarantine, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA).
In the first quarter, the price of canola surged as cold and rainy weather lingered in south China and the customs intensified the quarantine of imported canola, said the MARA.
Even though the canola price is likely to continue rising, the future vegetable oil supply will not be affected, said Tang Ke, an official with the agricultural ministry.
The shortened delivery of imported canola seeds has helped boost the supply of canola, Tang said.
In the first two months of the year, China imported a total of 1.71 million tonnes of edible vegetable oil and 1.08 million tonnes of canola seeds, up 44.5 and 46.5 percent respectively year on year, official data showed.
China's recovered production of edible vegetable oil and sufficient global stock of the substitutes of canola, including soybean, sunflower and palm oil, also contributed to the stable supply, according to the ministry.
Since January, China has repeatedly intercepted quarantine pests in imported Canadian canola and halted the imports of canola from two Canadian companies.
