China, the world's top soya importer, plans to introduce a new reporting regulation on imports of the oilseed in a bid to make the trade more transparent and avoid large swings in inflows of the commodity.
The draft regulation, issued by the commerce ministry on its Web site (www.mofcom.gov.cn), requires buyers to report purchases of soya or soyameal within 72 hours of signing contracts.
The rule might be expanded to include other farm products, according to the regulation. It gave no other details. The ministry did not say when the rule would take effect.
The new system, which is in line with US Department of Agriculture practices, was not intervention in the trade, but aimed to provide timely data on the inflow of the commodity for the industry, the ministry officials have said previously. But industry officials said Beijing was concerned about the country's rising soya imports, which it blames for declining domestic production.
The draft rule stipulates importers must report details of the trade, including dates of cargo departure and arrivals. If importers fail to report cargoes on time or make false reports, they would be given warnings or face fines of up to 50,000 yuan ($6,545). The ministry would also suspend trade of severe violators for one to three years, it said. China charges a 3 percent import tariff on soyabean and 5 percent on soyameal.
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