India suspends rule on GM imports until Mar '07

India has suspended until the end of the financial year in March 2007 a rule that required imports of genetically modified foods, including soyoil, to be cleared by a government panel, officials said on Friday, reports Reuters.

A statement by the directorate general of foreign trade did not give a reason for the decision, but an official said it was aimed at preventing a price rise.

"We had represented to the government that (the clearance rule) would delay the shipments and create a shortage of edible oils in the market," BV Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors Association of India, told Reuters.

"So they have extended the suspension up to March 31 2007." The rule change came into force in April, but was suspended a month later. That suspension was due to expire in July.

India imports about two million tonnes of soyoil, mostly from Brazil and Argentina, where transgenic Roundup Ready soybeans are widely grown. The country imports 40% of its annual needs of 11 million tonnes of edible oil. Under WTO regulations, soyoil carries an import duty of 45% in India, the lowest among imported oils.