The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in a report that it will implement China's updated soybean standard on December 1.
The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) published the final version of the National Standard for Soybeans (GB1352-2023) on May 23 to replace the current National Standard for Soybeans, GB 1352-2009, dated September 1, 2009, according to the September 26 report.
In February 2021, the WTO was notified of the updated soybean standard. This standard modifies quality requirements. The USDA's People's Republic of China report describes the addition of a new classification to soybeans. This standard will be effective from December 2023.
In the new proposed standard, all clauses are mandatory, unlike the current one. This differs from the current standard (clauses 5.1, 7.1 and 8) which requires only specific clauses, as indicated by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) report.
The standard establishes terms and definitions, classification, quality requirements, test methods, inspection rules, labeling and packaging requirements for soybeans. Additionally, it addresses storage and transportation. The standard applies to the purchase, storage, transportation, processing and sale of commercial soybeans.
Comparison of the final version of the standard by FAS China shows no changes from the draft version notified to the WTO in 2021, according to the report.
The USDA said it encourages industry members and relevant stakeholders to conduct their own due diligence to analyze how and whether the final standard could influence their businesses.
Source: Oils & Fats International
