Edible oil chain controlled by int'l investment

In early April, two edible oil brands, Golden Dragon Fish Oil and Fulin Door, announced that some of its edible oil prices would increase at an average of about 8 percent, which has led to consumer concerns about a new round of price hikes for edible oil.

Industry insiders pointed out that some international edible oil giants have taken control of the domestic soybean industry chain, Economic Information Daily reported on Wednesday.

As an important raw material for edible oil production, the price of soybeans has dominated as the main cost for producing edible oil.

Singapore Yihai Kerry Group, a Golden Dragon Fish brand shareholder, said the supply reduction of the main producing areas has caused the prices hikes for legumes in the international futures markets, the report said.

Zhao Limei, researcher at the Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, claimed that domestic soybean production, and more seriously, the supply of raw materials and food production in general, is primarily under the control of foreign investors.

Currently, four multinational grain merchants - ADM, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus - control more than 75 percent of China's edible oil raw materials market and edible oil supply processing market.