Manila, April 14 - Philippine imports of vegetable oil declined 72% to 65,809 metric tons in 2007 compared with the previous year, mainly due to a sharp increase in palm oil prices, the United Coconut Association of the Philippines said Monday.
Deliveries of palm oil alone plunged to 35,381 tons from an import volume of 197,477 tons a year earlier, UCAP said on its Web site.
Vegetable oil imports for 2008 are likely to stabilize near last year's figure around 65,000 tons, a trader said.
"The 65,000-ton level will be a base demand. No matter what, we will need to import 5,000 tons a month to feed demand for specialty uses," the trader said.
The trader also said higher costs will continue to dissuade local importers from bringing in palm oil.
Export prices of palm oil are at a discount of around $200/ton from those of coconut oil, a major Philippine export commodity.
However, the higher freight cost, a value-added tax of 12% and an import tariff of 5%, effectively eliminate any incentive to import palm oil from nearby Malaysia and Indonesia, the trader said.
UCAP also said in 2007, soybean imports declined 56% to 11,831 tons.