Prices of edible oils will likely decline next year, the International Finance News reported on Monday, citing Shang Qiangmin, an official from the China National Grain and Oils Information Center, an institution directly under the State Administration of Grain.

Shang attributed the current 10 to 15 percent increases in the prices of edible oils to China's dependency on imports and the country's edible oils consumption structure.

He said that soy bean bad harvests in Argentina and Brazil, two of the world's most important soy bean producers, led to an increase in the global price of soy bean oil, including in China. In addition, soy bean-based oils account for 40 percenet of the total edible oil market. This gives them a large impact on prices of the sector as a whole.

Because Brazil, Argentina, and the US are expected to have a larger soy bean crop next year, the price of soy bean oil will probably fall, Shang said.

He also said that China's imports of soy beans will reach 42.5 million tons this year, and that the country may import more next year.