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Govt may halt soya imports from the US

The government is planning to scrap the import of soya bean from the United States, fearing that the genetically-engineered American food item would bring along with it a number of exotic weeds and viruses into India.

Indian edible oil companies are keen to source at least two million tonnes of soya bean from the US every year to cater to the domestic oil demand and to export soya meal.

But the Union agriculture ministry, which was to clear the import applications, is now all set to scrap them after Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who is in charge of the ministry, scanned the files on Monday.

Reason: a technical committee of the ministries of agriculture and food has found that the US soya bean contains at least five weeds and 13 viruses which, if allowed to enter India, would virtually kill indigenous crops.

An official at the agriculture ministry told Rediff On The NeT that the soya bean originating from the US have weeds like Anoda, Arogrostis, Ambrosia, Asclepias and Abutilon Theophrastia.

''The American soya bean also reportedly has viruses like Arabis Mozaic, Bean pod Mottel, Tomoto Ringspot and Blacleye,'' he said. ''If these weeds and viruses enter the country, they could create chaos among the Indian crops.''

Sources said the soya bean import bid is now unlikely to materialise as the prime minister, after being briefed about the dangers of the US soya bean, has put the files on hold.

Vajpayee has also asked ministry officials to further study whether the genetically-engineered soya bean from the US would create health problems to consumers of soya oil and soyameal in India.

Sources said the edible oil industry will soon pressurise the government to relax the quarantine requirements for soya bean imports. One proposal from the edible oil lobby is the splitting of beans at the port of entry so that the germination power of imported soya bean is neutralised.

But the proposal is unlikely to succeed for two reasons. First, the splitting of beans would not help check the viruses found in the imported soya bean. Two, the idea to get the imported soya bean split at ports is not feasible as Indian ports do not have the technical facilities to do so.

Officials disclosed that the US has been pressurising India to open up its market for soya bean import. If the proposal gets the nod from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, soya bean would be the first genetically-engineered item to be imported into India.

''But the Vajpayee government, with its swadeshi agenda, is unlikely to clear the import plan of US soya,'' a deputy secretary at the agriculture ministry said.

The European Union last year had strongly opposed export of such soya bean by the US and the controversy was finally settled after the Americans agreed to segregate the product from natural soya bean.

While in the European countries genetically engineered soya is sold with specific labels, no such specification has so far been thought of in India with the result that Indian consumers are unsure about the origin of soya.

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