China Removes Ban On Indian Rapeseed Oil Meal Amid Trade War With US

China had banned Indian imports, citing the presence of a particular pest in the crop in 2012 which has now been resolved.

China is the biggest consumer of oil meal of which rapeseed is a variant. Beijing has slapped additional tariffs on US oil meals in a full-blown trade war, looking to import from other countries.

"China has cleared the ban on Indian rapeseed meal. As long as Indian companies comply with Chinese regulations, they can export it," an Indian government official told IANS.

Last month, a buyer-seller meet was organised by the Indian and Chinese governments in which Indian exporters made a strong pitch to resume rapeseed exports.

New Delhi's trade engagement with Beijing seems to be increasing as both sides have pledged to put ties back on track after last year's Doklam military stand-off.

In an ice-breaking meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Wuhan in April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked that Indian commodities be given more access to the Chinese market.

Why Was Rapeseed Oil Meal Ban?

China had removed India from their importers' list in 2012 after they found 0.5-1 parts per billion of malachite green in the batches exported by India.

The contamination supposedly occured from the green ink used in marking details on the consignment, according to a report.

Prashant Lokhande, Counsellor (Economic and Commerce) said that Indian oil meal was non-genetically modified and hence and was of very high in quality and demand.

Amid US-China trade war, a business delegation had orgainsed a meeting with Chinese oil meal importers in September to reconsider the ban on import of oil.

In the past five months, India exported more than 1.1 million tonnes of oil meal to South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand, registering a growth of 21 per cent year on year., Lokhande said.

(With Inputs From Agencies)