Andy Carpenter in Investor’s Daily Edge says China now consumers 44 pounds of cooking oil per person every year. And this trend is growing at a rate of 10 percent a year.

This makes the Chinese the biggest consumers of cooking oil in the world. It also opens up a great way to profit.

China imports about 350 million tons of cooking oil each year. All that oil can then be recycled to create biofuels - by companies such as Gushan Environmental Energy (NYSE:GU). More from Andy…

Within the edible oil industry, the Chinese olive oil market is now the focus of global attention.

That’s because though there are some Chinese regions that might be suitable for growing olives, they can’t be widely planted because the country lacks the planting technology, olive seeds and technical expertise to do the job. So, today, more than 100 brands of olive oil make their way to China, and nearly 100% are imported from Spain, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Tunis, Portugal, Jordan and Australia.Most of that imported olive oil is consumed in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Tianjin and other large cities. Remember, China has about 70 cities with a population of one million or more. In fact, since 2001, olive oil imports have jumped more than 70% a year.

This year, China will likely import 20,000 tons of olive oil… by the time the 2010 World Expo lands in Shanghai, that number will jump to more than 60,000 tons… it’ll double after that.

So, as with cement, steel, copper, asphalt, rice, beer… everything… China’s ravenous consumption has created a booming market for olive oil. Its scale will only increase.

And, that’s also great news for companies like Gushan Environmental Energy (NYSE:GU), which takes used cooking oil (among other things) and converts it into biodiesel fuel.

Source: Bank Bailouts and High Oil Prices, Fail Roadside Sobriety Test