April 16, 2009

Guangdong Entry-Exit Inspection & Quarantine Bureau has found bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) in ten batches of imported soy for the past three months.

The occurrence of BPMV has been rare at the Guangdong Customs and even at the nationwide customs. With assistance from the bureau, the relevant parties have destroyed the virus found in the affected soy shipments.

The virus, transmitted by bean leaf beetle, can cause serious damage to leguminous plants and lead to a sharp decrease in soy output.

China, one of the largest soy producing and consuming countries, imported 37.44 million tonnes of soy in 2008, 40 percent of which came from the US.

Meanwhile, in order to meet the domestic demand, China imported 3.26 million tonnes and 3.86 million tonnes in February and March this year, increasing by 61.2 percent and 66.6 percent respectively compared to the same periods a year earlier.