HAMBURG, Nov 5 (Reuters) -China's edible oil imports - especially soyand palm oils - are set to reach record levels in the second half of 2002as domestic production cannot keep up with rising demand, Hamburg-basednewsletter Oil World said.It forecast China will import 440,000 tonnes of soyoil alone betweenOctober and December this year, up from only 52,000 tonnes in the sametime in 2001. Palm oil imports in this period will rise to 640,000 tonnesfrom 572,000 tonnes the same time a year ago."Domestic supplies have tightened and this makes it imperative to raiseimports of soybeans and oil to bridge the supply gap of other commoditiesand satisfy domestic demand," the newsletter said.It added: "As domestic demand for oils and meals continues to expand,Chinese importers will have to look for replacements such as importationof soybeans for crushing in China and imports of soya oil, palm oil andsoybean meal."China restricted imports of all genetically-modified (GM) food in Marchbut this is unlikely to stop the rise in purchases in the remaining weeksof this year. "There are more and more indications that the whole GM issuehas considerably eased," it said."Record palm and soyoil imports will therefore lead to a pronouncedbuildup of stocks at the end of December," it said."It can be expected that Chinese imports of soy and palm oils will declineto a very low level in January and probably February 2003 before theyresume their up trend for the remainder of this season."