01.11.2018 (Agriculture.com) - NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Palm oil will see some benefit from the U.S.-China trade war as China will reduce supplies of soybean for its vegetable oil processing industry, said industry analyst James Fry on Thursday.

Soybeans from the United States entering China have been subject to additional tariffs of 25 percent since July as Beijing retaliated in response to U.S. duties on Chinese goods.

China, the world's largest soybean importer, has switched much of its soybean purchases from the United States to Brazil, but this has not been enough to fully replace U.S. supplies.

Palm oil would be among the alternatives for China to fulfil its vegetable oil demand, said Fry said on the sidelines of an industry conference.

Any additional demand would help support palm oil prices which have been trading near their lowest since 2015 amid oversupply conditions and low demand.

"I think there will be some benefit for palm. My worry right now for palm is we are in the winter period," Fry said.

Palm hardens in cold temperatures which would make processing difficult as China enters the Northern Hemisphere winter.

He expects the U.S.-China trade tension would result in hundreds of thousands of tonnes of additional demand for palm.

"Sadly for palm it is not the best time, but I'm sure there will be some benefits," Fry said.