RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil has urged China to clarify some aspects of a new national soy standard that changes the bean’s quality requirements, including how the new “standard” will be implemented, an Agriculture Ministry official said on Monday, June 28.
China’s proposal to introduce a new standard for the oilseed, currently being debated at the World Trade Organization, is expected to replace a 2009 standard, said Glauco Bertoldo, head of the Department of Plant Origin Products Inspection (DIPOV).
China notified the WTO in February and the new proposal comes at a time when Brazil is reviewing its own soy standard, said Bertoldo.
“While we discuss the new national standard, we cannot ignore the standard of our largest consumer market,” Bertoldo said during an online event organized by EMBRAPA (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation).
Brazil is the world’s largest producer and exporter of soy and China is the main destination for Brazilian oilseeds. In China, local processors crush the beans to produce oil and meal used in animal feed.
The new Chinese standard will prescribe the terms and definitions, classifications, quality requirements, test methods, inspection rules, labeling, packaging, storage and transportation requirements for soy.
“Our first perception is that the Brazilian market will not be significantly affected,” said Bertoldo. He added that the new Chinese standards will be “less strict” than the former ones with respect to certain quality parameters.
However, a potential problem relates to the maximum moisture level of soy, set at 13% under China’s proposed new standard, below the 14% allowed in Brazil.
Regarding moisture, Brazil said that the value proposed in the new Chinese standard should not be used to grade soy because it can undergo variations, Bertoldo said.