AreaChina (Mainland)

Commodity GroupOilseeds, oils and meals

CommoditySoybeans, rapeseed

Date01/01/2019

Policy CategoryOther

Policy InstrumentGMO policy

DescriptionApproved the importation of two new GM soybean varieties and two new GM rapeseed varieties, while also renewing a number of existing import permits for three years.

NotesIn January, China approved the importation of five new GM crop varieties, including two new soybean traits (‘Enlist E3’ and ‘SYHTOH2’) and two new rapeseed traits (‘RF3’ and ‘MON88302’) that were developed by seed firms in North America and Europe. In addition to the new approvals, the import permits for another 26 GM crops have been renewed for three years. China’s move follows repeated calls by exporting countries for improved market access (see also MPPU June & July’17). In a separate note, China’s agriculture ministry informed that, starting next year, domestic entities researching and developing GM products may be granted financial support. The announcement reinforces earlier government efforts to move towards the commercialization of domestically developed GM crops (see MPPU Mar./May’15, Sep’16 & Jan.’17).