US Ambassador asks to clear illegally imported GMO Soybean Vessels

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema said on Wednesday that the US ambassador had asked him to give a one-time clearance to GMO soybean vessels that were illegally brought in and seized by customs officials.

Cheema told the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Food Security that GMO soybean imports had been banned by the Pakistani government.

He also said that Pakistan’s customs officials had stopped nine illegal shipments of GMO soybean seeds.

He kept saying that GMO soybeans cause cancer and that Pakistan won’t let them come in.US launches an initiative to enhance bilateral Trade

He also said that the law only lets non-GMO soybeans be brought in. He also told me that the US ambassador had asked me to clear soybean ships.

“The US ambassador told me to give soybean ships a one-time pass and then put a ban on them,” he said. “How can Pakistan let something happen that is illegal in the United States?” the minister asked.

Cheema, who is in charge of food, said that the same issue was also talked about at the federal cabinet meeting, and the prime minister has set up a committee to find a solution.

He told the chairman that you put this on the meeting agenda without telling him about it first. “I don’t understand why, if you can’t bring something into the country because it’s been banned, you’re now a lawyer for importers,” he said.

According to the brief submitted by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research on August 20, the Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation-Customs, Regional Office, Karachi has taken cognizance of this US soybean cargo u/s 16 of Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969) read with section 4 of Pakistan Plant Quarantine Act, 1976 by receiving credible information that a vessel, named MV YASA FORTUNE with IGM No. PQIB-0815-18102020 carrying the Living modified organism

So, DPP asked the importers to set up samples for GMO testing of soybean because the importers haven’t said that US soybean is genetically modified in their import permit application or given a valid license from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to this effect if goods are genetically modified. So far, the importers haven’t set up samples and tests of goods to confirm that they are GMO.

So, the DPP told the office of the Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation- Customs, Regional Office, Karachi, that the importers aren’t setting up samples for GMO testing of soybean, and since they know that this soybean cargo contains GM material, they should look into it and let the DPP know what they find and any other advice they have so they can decide the biosecurity clearance and release order of this consignment.

The Food Minister and Shehzad Ali Khan, who is the head of the All Pakistan Solvent Extractors’ Association (APSEA), criticized each other over the issue of soybean imports.

After the minister said that he was “phony,” the head of APSEA met the minister face to face.

The APSEA Patron in Chief said that the illegal trade was caused by the minister and his ministry.

The minister asked the person in charge to kick him out of the meeting.

Earlier, the APSEA patron-in-chief told the meeting that they are bringing in oil seeds and their powder, which is used to feed chickens.

We’ve been bringing in soybean seeds since 2015, he said, and nine of our shipments have been taken by customs since October 20 at Karachi’s Port Qasim. He said that if soy seeds couldn’t be sent out of the country, it would be bad for the country’s poultry industry.

Riaz ul Haq, Ahmad Raza Maneka, Chaudhry Faqir Ahmed, Syed Javed Ali Shah Jillani, Kamal Ud-din, and other senior officials were also at the meeting.