Amendments to Pakistan’s biosafety guidelines will allow imports of genetically engineered (GE) soyabean and canola to resume, according to a report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The Federal Cabinet approved amendments to the Pakistan Biosafety Rules (PBR) on 24 November, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)’s 4 December Pakistan: Oilseeds and Products Update said.
Although further clarification was still needed from the country’s Ministry of Climate Change (MOCC) on how the import licensing system would be implemented, the USDA said the new guidelines could be introduced in the first quarter of 2024, allowing for GE soyabean and canola imports to resume.
“The amendments should enable importers to eventually obtain an import licence for GE commodities destined for food, feed and processing,” the USDA said.
Following the move, the USDA increased its forecast for Pakistan’s 2023/24 soyabean imports from 0.5M tonnes to 1M tonnes while no changes were made to rapeseed/canola supply and demand estimates.
The 2023/24 rapeseed import forecast remained at 0.8M tonnes.
At 950,000 tonnes, rapeseed was Pakistan’s most imported oilseed in 2022/23. Australia, a non-GE canola producer, had a market share of 60%, with shipments of 570,000 tonnes.
GE soyabean and canola imports have been blocked in Pakistan since October 2022.
