Informal commitment to Brazil: China does not restrict its soybean imports

Introduction: Beijing, Monday a senior diplomat said on Friday that China has made an informal pledge to Brazil that soybeans expected to arrive in China in the coming week will not be affected by China's new regulations on genetically modified safety, resulting in import delays Renato Amorim, Brazil's ambassador to Beijing, said China had agreed that Brazil's soybean imports did not need to provide a safety certificate because Brazil's soybeans were non genetically modified Amorim told Dow Jones that we have held talks with the Ministry of agriculture and AQSIQ As a result of these talks, Brazil's soybean imports should not be disrupted because there are no genetically modified organisms in the soybeans produced in Brazil China is the second largest export market of Brazil's soybeans In 2001, the export earned US $50 million Amorim said about 180000 tonnes of soybeans, which left Brazil on April 20, will arrive at Chinese ports in the coming week China's four government departments have implemented or clearly stated regulations to regulate the import of genetically modified products The regulations were introduced by the Ministry of agriculture and the quality inspection department in January, but they were criticized for being vague and unpredictable, threatening the US $1 billion export earnings After December 20, it is hard to guarantee that an interim agreement, which came into effect on March 20, has provided a grace period for nine months of soybean imports, and relevant departments in China have also launched safety approval procedures However, since January, the Ministry of health and the environmental protection department have also announced their own plans to separately implement the GM safety management measures of the Ministry of health, which came into effect on July 1 The national environmental protection department has not yet provided a timetable for the implementation of the regulations Amorim is well aware that despite China's assurances to Brazil, soybean traders are still worried about delays in shipping to Chinese ports, which means prices will be affected Many people worry that China may spend a lot of time testing soybeans, but China has made an informal commitment to the Brazilian government on this matter - all soybeans shipped to China are just routine inspections, we have consulted China on the same issues countless times, and we are still unclear about the safety license after December 20 Amorim said the Brazilian Ministry of agriculture is seeking to launch Brazil's non GM safety certification program in the next six months Although 50% of the soybeans in Rio Grande, south of Brazil, are illegally planted, the Brazilian government is taking strict measures to ensure that they do not flow into China "We do not separate soybeans There are other markets for genetically modified soybeans We decided that 100% of soybeans exported to China must be non genetically modified." Amorim, a traditional crop, is not optimistic about the potential success of the Brazilian Ministry of agriculture in legalizing transgenes Export of traditional soybeans to Europe will raise $25 per ton of water, and the number of traditional soybeans exported to Europe also exceeds that of genetically modified soybeans in the United States, so in the short term, Brazil's industrial policy will not change But Amorim said: "due to the continuous confusion caused by China's agricultural import regulations, it is difficult to realize the expectation that traditional soybean transportation to China will be promoted by the regulations It all depends on how China will actually implement its new rules No one knows at present that there are many loopholes in the regulations and it is not particularly clear to point out Therefore, we think it needs to wait In the next few days, we will have the first ship of soybeans coming to China Let's see how the Chinese side deals with it "