SOPA urges govt to block GM soybean meal imports to protect farmers

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

Soybean Processors Association (SOPA) on Thursday urged the commerce ministry to reject any proposal to allow imports of genetically modified soybean meal from the United States, saying the country has sufficient domestic supplies and such a move would hurt farmers.

In a letter to Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, the industry body said India currently holds more than adequate stocks of soybean meal to meet entire domestic demand for the marketing year 2025-26 running from October to September.

"Permitting GM Soybean Meal imports at this juncture will have devastating consequences for India's agricultural sector," the association said in the letter.

The association warned that allowing such imports would severely harm Indian soybean farmers already grappling with prices below the government's minimum support price, and further depress market rates due to oversupply.

It also said the move would threaten the viability of India's domestic soybean processing industry and undermine the government's "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" or self-reliant India policy.

India has built a strong reputation as a supplier of high-quality non-GMO soybean products, which provides a competitive advantage in markets where buyers specifically demand traceable, non-GMO origins, the association said.

The processors asked the government to exclude GM soybean meal from any bilateral trade agreements or import allowances, and to protect India's non-GMO soybean cultivation and processing ecosystem.