Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Apr 28, 2006
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Apr 28, 2006 |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Oilseeds & Edible Oil `New import norms not for non-GM soya oil' Our Bureau
Clearing the air The clarification clears confusion among trade, importers. Soyabean oil made up 37% of total edible oil imports during Nov-March. Any import of soyabean oil from GM soya will have to be cleared by GEAC.
Chennai , April 27 The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has clarified that the rule making it mandatory for import of all genetically modified (GM) products to carry a declaration from the exporter will not apply for shipments of de-gummed or refined soyabean oil from non-GM soyabean. Clarifying doubts raised by the Solvent Extractors Association of India, the MoEF said the Rules for the Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous micro-organisms/Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells, 1989 (Rules 1989) under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 would apply for oil derived from GM soyabean only. The solvent extractors body had in a letter to the Union Ministry of Commerce sought to know if the rules would apply to non-GM products also and what were the procedures to be followed.
Confusion buoys prices
The Rules have been in force from 1989 but the Commerce Ministry's notification on April 7 on guidelines for importing genetically modified products led to confusion in the edible oil market. This resulted in firming up of edible oil prices on apprehensions that the notification would lead to imports of soyabean oil being delayed or held up. Crude soyabean oil, which were ruling at Rs 320 for 10 kg in Mumbai on April 6, is currently being quoted at Rs 370. Similarly, other oils too made gains in view of the confusion. In the first five months of the current oil year (November 2005-October 2006), soyabean oil made up 5.29 lakh tonnes (lt) of the total edible oil imports of 14.47 lt. According to industry sources, nearly four lt of soyabean oil could be imported during April and May.
No requests
In its letter, the MOEF said provisions of Section 11 of Rules, 1989 mandated that food stuffs, ingredients in food stuffs and additives including processing aids containing or consisting of genetically engineered organisms or cells, "shall not be produced, sold, imported or used except with the approval of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC)". Though the rules had been in force since 1989, no request for commercial import and marketing of GM food had been received by the Ministry yet. GEAC had in 2002 approved the limited import of refined vegetable soyabean oil (RSVO) by two non-governmental organisations CARE and CDS under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme after confirming from Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics at Hyderbad that RVSO did not contain DNA. In the case of import of de-gummed soybean oil by CARE and CRS under the ICDS programme, GEAC permitted limited import for a period of one year subject to carrying out a post-market surveillance study on the adverse impact if any. CARE and CRS requested for waiver of this condition but GEAC did not grant it, the ministry said, adding that subsequently no request for import of GM soyabean oil was received.
More Stories on : Oilseeds & Edible Oil | Environment | Agricultural Policy
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