China's GMO rules to take effect on schedule
Date: 24-Jan-02
Country: CHINA
"We will surely implement the rules as planned," said an official at the ministry's GMO safety department.
Soybean traders in the United States speculated this week that China could delay implementing the rules as some domestic crushers run out of supplies of foreign beans.
But the Chinese official, who declined to be identified, said the ministry had no plans to make exceptions to the rules even though crushers, especially those in the south, rely on foreign beans to survive.
In early January, the ministry issued details for GMO rules requiring all foreign firms to obtain safety certificates for GMO cargoes arriving at Chinese ports from March 20.
Another ministry official said the ministry had not received any applications for GMO safety certificates from overseas firms.
"Many of the foreign firms have come to consult us while they prepare the documents because some items on the forms sound too technical to them," said the official. She said it was possible that samplings would be required.
The complex procedure and a week-long Lunar New Year break starting February 12 would mean the first safety certificate would only be issued by mid-April at the earliest, said an analyst at the National Grain and Oils Information Centre.
The ministry, briefing the industry on Sunday, also said it would not allow any tolerance for cargoes that are claimed to be GMO-free, he said.
"All non-GMO soybean imports have to be tested and domestic equipment can test contents with percentages as low as one per thousand. As far as we know, there is no foreign beans which are totally GMO-free, including Brazilian ones," said one analyst.
A leading crusher in the eastern province of Jiangsu said he hoped the government would exercise some flexibility in implementing the rules as some firms could face closure if there were insufficient foreign beans to crush.
"We hope the government will be more flexible, but there is no sign that it will delay implementing those rules," said a trader at the crusher.
Domestic crushers have started purchase as much as possible to stock up on beans, traders said.
But new huge orders for arrivals before March 20 were unlikely as new licences were hard to obtain. They are issued for contracts signed before June 6, when China first announced its GMO rules.