UPDATE - China says delays issuing details of GMO rules
Date: 03-Dec-01
Country: CHINA
"Yes, we have delayed this," an official at the ministry told Reuters without elaborating.
The ministry originally planned to release the details this week or next, he said. He declined to say when they would be issued.
Beijing announced rules on genetically modified organisms (GMO) on June 6, requiring government approval for all production, sale and imports of GMO foods.
Safety certificates stating that the products are not harmful to humans, animals or the environment are also required.
But Beijing failed to offer details how they would be implemented. Resulting confusion over the rules brought order of U.S cargoes - 70 percent of which are bio-engineered - to a virtual halt as buyers worried cargoes might not pass the strict regulations.
Quarantine officials at ports have told Reuters that for GMO soybeans import cargoes after June 6, buyers must get safety certificates from the Ministry of Agriculture. But traders said the ministry had not yet set up an office to issue such certificates.
Despite slower imports, analysts said China's stocks of foreign beans at its ports stood at about one million tonnes due to large shipments from contracts signed before June 6, while there would be more arrivals in November and December.
China's soybean shortfall this year was estimated at 12 million tonnes, analysts said. China produced some 15 million tonnes of soybean this year, up from last year's 14.8 million tonnes.
China imported 12.06 million tonnes of soybeans in the first 10 months of this year, up 35.3 percent year-on-year. October imports were 897,724 tonnes, official customs figures show.
