The Maharashtra Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (MCACP) has asked the government to ban imports of genetically-modified (GM) soyabean.
In a recent meeting between MCACP chairman Pasha Patel and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) chairman Rita Teaotia, he told her the GM soyabean was being imported from developing countries such as Ethiopia through other routes. India’s imports are sourced mainly from Malawi, Mozambique and other African nations.
Though the imports were under the label of non-GM crop, trade sources suspected large quantities of GM soyabean were filtered into the country and that stringent testing by the domestic food regulator was necessary.
“We have called for an immediate ban on such imports as it will hurt domestic farmers,” Patel said. He expressed the fear that already some one lakh tonne of GM-soyabean may have been imported into the country. He highlighted spot prices of soyabean had fallen from a three-year high of `3,950 per quintal in January to `3,700/quintal and may decline further if these imports continue.
In a letter to the chairman of FSSAI, Patel said as the rates in the domestic market were higher, some traders were importing soyabean into the country.
Unfortunately, this is a GM soya seed, he said in the representation, adding this may adulterate the country’s seed source and reduce value to the country’s soyabean internationally.
India typically imports 1 lakh-1.20 lakh tonne of non-GM soyabean annually. Market sources revealed some 15,000 tonne of soyabean may have been imported in the past few weeks at `2,500-2,600 per quintal. According to the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), the country imported around 123,000 tonne non-GM soyabean during April-October, according to SEA. In 2017-18, the country imported nearly 89,000 tonne.
Industry experts pointed out price subsidies provided for US soyabean farmers were already damaging the domestic market. In exports, India is able to command a price premium on the account of its non-GM soyabean. This is under huge risk from GM soyabean being illegally imported in India, sources said.
Market sources alleged soyabean seeds are being imported in India from USA and Ukraine. Sources revealed Ukraine had exported more than 2,000 tonne of soyabean seeds to India in 2016.
