14/09/05 BEIJING, (Asia Pulse) - Though edible oil prices stopped fallingand even rebounded slightly thanks to increasing holiday consumption,China's edible oil market as a whole was still in a weak mood in Augustthis year.

In August, second-class peanut oil price averaged 9,625 yuan/tonnationwide, down 1.52 per cent from July; second-class vegetable oil,5,501 yuan/ton, down 1.36 per cent months on month; and second-classsoybean oil, 5,393 yuan/ton, down 1.34 per cent. A

Thanks to holiday effects, soybean oil prices rebounded entering the endof August, making edible oil market as a whole going stable.

However, as follow-up import supply of soybean remains sufficient, and themarket demand as a whole is weaker than in the same period of normalyears, China's edible oil market still presents a pattern of oversupply.

Meanwhile, with harvesting of summer rapeseed entering winding stage andharvesting of autumn rapeseed nearing start, the price trend of autumnrapeseed will be basically the same as that of summer rapeseed.

It is expected that China's rapeseed output will reach 11.37 million tonsin the 2004/2005 farm year, as against the record high of 13.04 milliontons in 2003/2004.

China's rapeseed output has kept growing for years, while the growth ofthe domestic demand for related oil products is gradually coming to ahalt.

With sufficient rapeseed supply, vegetable oil inventory is still heavy inChina at present.

China's consumption of palm oil will grow weak after the holidays, namelythe Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day, and the price will fluctuatenarrowly.