The Pakistan government has authorised imports of genetically engineered (GE) canola and soyabeans in 2025/26 to meet domestic crushing demand in the face of limited production, according to a US Department Agriculture (USDA) report.
Imports of GE canola for food, feed and processing were authorised by the Pakistan National Biosafety Committee (NBC) in November and GE soyabean import licences had also been renewed by Pakistan’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for another year, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)’s 12 December “Pakistan - Oilseeds and Products Update” said.
Following the move, soyabean imports were expected to increase to 2.4M tonnes in 2025/26, up from 1.95M tonnes the previous year.
Despite the introduction of programmes to promote soyabean cultivation, the country’s harvest is expected to reach only 1,000 tonnes in 2025/26, according to the report.
“Large-scale commercial planting has yet to materialise, and the sector remains far from achieving a scale that could meaningfully reduce Pakistan’s heavy reliance on soyabean imports in the foreseeable future,” the USDA said.
Brazil was Pakistan’s leading soyabean supplier for Pakistan in 2024/25 at 1.38M tonnes, followed by the USA at 294,000 tonnes and Ukraine at 256,000 tonnes.
Pakistan’s soyabean meal production for 2025/26 was forecast at 1.85M tonnes, a 31% increase from the previous year.
The projected rise in meal production was due to stable soyabean availability and expected strong demand from feed mills during the marketing year.
Due to tight soyabean supplies over the two years prior to the report, industry had imported soyabean meals to meet domestic demand, the USDA said.
With the availability of soyabean imports for crushing fully restored at the time of the report, no soyabean meal imports were expected in 2025/26.
“The poultry industry – which was impacted during the last three years due to the soyabean shortage – is also expected to grow in 2025/26, supported by a return to stable imported soyabean supplies,” the USDA said.
“Many poultry producers who had previously suspended operations due to inconsistent soyabean availability have now resumed their businesses.”
Pakistan’s rapeseed production in 2025/26 is projected at 565,000 tonnes, a 10% increase on the previous year, with imports rising by almost 8% to 650,000 tonnes.
Rapeseed meal production was forecast to increase by 10% to 673,000 tonnes in 2025/26 due to an expected rise in domestic rapeseed/canola production and higher imports following resumed approval for GE rapeseed.
While Australia had supplied 99% of Pakistan’s rapeseed/canola imports over the past three years, the authorisation of GE canola was likely to open opportunities for Canada to regain substantial market share in 2025/26, the USDA said.
In Pakistan, rapeseed/canola is mainly crushed to extract edible oil and meal used for dairy feed, according to the report.
