GM or non-GM: which does a Pakistani buyer need?

The crushers now buy GM beans from the Americas against the events listed by the Pakistan EPA, which is where the volume growth is. Non-GM beans from West and East Africa still move for buyers who sell non-GM meal or oil, and they carry a PCR certificate because Customs values them against a published floor. Imported soybean meal is non-GM only, since GM meal was refused in May 2025. The first question we ask is which of the three you are buying.

Can Benin beans be offered?

Not as raw beans without the Beninese Ministry of Commerce's export authorisation, which since 1 April 2024 is granted only after local processors are supplied. A West African offer of 'Benin soya' is checked against that rule before it is passed on; Nigerian, Togolese and Ethiopian beans carry no such restriction, while Ghana has required an export permit for soybeans since December 2024 under L.I. 2467.

What parcel sizes are workable?

US Gulf, Brazilian and Argentine GM beans come in Supramax and Panamax lots of 50,000 to 65,000 t into the FAP terminal and the Port Qasim multi-purpose berths. West African non-GM beans and meal move in Handysize parcels of 10,000 to 30,000 t or in containers of 25 t each from Lagos, Lomé and Tema. A feed mill taking 500 t a month is a container buyer and is priced as one.

What about halal feed?

Soybean meal is a plant protein and needs no animal-derived processing aid. Where a feed formulation calls for binders, enzymes or fat blends alongside the meal, halal-certified sources are specified at the buyer's request; that is a specification line on the contract, not a separate product.

Indian Ocean · Pakistan

Soybean and Soybean Meal Suppliers CFR Karachi and Port Qasim, Pakistan

Beans for the Port Qasim crushers, meal for the poultry feed mills, on two different rulebooks

Pakistan declared 1,039,400 t of HS 1201 soybean imports in 2024 at an average USD 573 per tonne, with Ukraine (273,300 t), Nigeria (257,600 t), Togo (127,200 t), Ethiopia (71,500 t) and Ghana (45,400 t) among the origins, and 284,100 t of HS 2304 soybean meal, led by Nigeria at 117,600 t. Those were non-GM years. Genetically modified soybean imports were approved in October 2024 and resumed in February 2025, and on 25 May 2026 the National Biosafety Committee removed the January 2027 sunset clause, so GM beans from the United States, Brazil and Argentina now clear against events listed on the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency site without a separate importer licence. USDA expects about 2.4 million tonnes of bean imports in 2025-26. Meal is the other rulebook: in May 2025 a federal committee refused GM soybean meal imports to protect the solvent-extraction industry, so imported meal is non-GM meal for the feed mills and beans go to the crushers, of which several 250 to 800 t/day plants sit at Port Qasim itself with the larger ones in Lahore and Vehari.

CBIL brokers US, Brazilian and Argentine GM beans (grade No. 2 yellow, 14% moisture max) in Panamax and Supramax parcels, and non-GM beans and expeller or solvent meal from Nigeria, Togo, Ghana and Ethiopia in Handysize and container lots, CFR Karachi and Port Qasim, discharged at the FAP grain and fertiliser terminal or Port Qasim's multi-purpose berths. Non-GM cargoes carry a PCR test certificate and certificate of origin, since Pakistan Customs values non-GM beans against a published floor and Benin, a large West African grower, has barred raw bean exports since 1 April 2024 except under ministry authorisation. Every cargo ships with SGS or Intertek weight, quality and phytosanitary certificates at load and fumigation as the buyer's plant requires. A requirement that states the buyer, GM or non-GM, beans or meal, the parcel size and the LC bank gets a firm answer; one without them gets a question first.

Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices grain freight, Handysize to Panamax on LaycanDesk.

The market in figures

Declared imports, 2024: Soybeans 1,039,400 t (USD 573/t) · soybean meal 284,100 t (USD 521/t)
Bean origins, 2024 (non-GM year): Ukraine 26% · Nigeria 25% · Togo 12% · Ethiopia 7% · Ghana 4%
Forecast bean imports, 2025-26: about 2.4 million t (USDA), GM beans admitted without a cut-off date since 25 May 2026
GM soybean meal: Import refused by federal committee, May 2025; imported meal is non-GM
Parcel size and form: Supramax to Panamax bulk for GM beans; Handysize and containers for West African non-GM beans and meal

Official trade data; sources listed below. Landed values are the importing country's declared CIF, not CBIL prices.

Questions buyers ask

GM or non-GM: which does a Pakistani buyer need?: The crushers now buy GM beans from the Americas against the events listed by the Pakistan EPA, which is where the volume growth is. Non-GM beans from West and East Africa still move for buyers who sell non-GM meal or oil, and they carry a PCR certificate because Customs values them against a published floor. Imported soybean meal is non-GM only, since GM meal was refused in May 2025. The first question we ask is which of the three you are buying.
Can Benin beans be offered?: Not as raw beans without the Beninese Ministry of Commerce's export authorisation, which since 1 April 2024 is granted only after local processors are supplied. A West African offer of 'Benin soya' is checked against that rule before it is passed on; Nigerian, Togolese and Ethiopian beans carry no such restriction, while Ghana has required an export permit for soybeans since December 2024 under L.I. 2467.
What parcel sizes are workable?: US Gulf, Brazilian and Argentine GM beans come in Supramax and Panamax lots of 50,000 to 65,000 t into the FAP terminal and the Port Qasim multi-purpose berths. West African non-GM beans and meal move in Handysize parcels of 10,000 to 30,000 t or in containers of 25 t each from Lagos, Lomé and Tema. A feed mill taking 500 t a month is a container buyer and is priced as one.
What about halal feed?: Soybean meal is a plant protein and needs no animal-derived processing aid. Where a feed formulation calls for binders, enzymes or fat blends alongside the meal, halal-certified sources are specified at the buyer's request; that is a specification line on the contract, not a separate product.

Sources

UN Comtrade, reporter 586 (Pakistan), HS 1201, imports, 2024: world 1,039,400 t, USD 595.5 million; Ukraine 273,300 t; Nigeria 257,600 t; Benin 217,500 t; Togo 127,200 t; Ethiopia 71,500 t; Ghana 45,400 t. HS 2304: world 284,100 t, USD 147.9 million; Nigeria 117,600 t (desk pull of the public preview API, 28 Sep 2026).
The Nation, 25 May 2026, 'Pakistan moves to liberalise GMO regime with major biosafety reforms': National Biosafety Committee removed the 2024 sunset clause that had allowed GM imports only until 17 January 2027; approved events published on the Pakistan EPA website; private importers may buy approved GM grain without separate licences.
Profit (Pakistan Today), 25 Oct 2024, 'Pakistan permits GMO soybean imports'; USDA FAS, 'US soybean exports climb after Pakistan ban removal' (imports resumed February 2025).
Profit (Pakistan Today), 15 May 2025, 'GMO soybean meal imports denied despite strong demand': committee chaired by the federal minister rejected GM meal imports and deferred the question for at least six months; APSEA opposed, feed millers supported.
World Grain, 'Pakistan authorizes GE oilseed imports for 2025-26'; USDA FAS Oilseeds and Products Update PK2025-0017: bean imports about 2.4 million t forecast for 2025-26.
Directorate General of Customs Valuation, Valuation Ruling 1910/2024 (non-GMO soybean seed, on APSEA representation): customs value floor USD 625/t C&F recorded in the desk's West Africa soybean file, 28 Sep 2026.
Republic of Benin, Decree 2022-568 of 12 Oct 2022 (sgg.gouv.bj): export of soya grain and raw cashew prohibited from 1 April 2024 except under authorisation of the Ministry of Commerce after local processors are supplied; Agence Ecofin, 13 Oct 2022; Banouto, 1 Apr 2024.
Port Qasim Authority, pqa.gov.pk/en/facilities: FAP grain and fertiliser terminal, handling capacity over 4 million tonnes per annum; multi-purpose berths 2-4 for vessels above 35,000 DWT.
Crusher capacities (Port Qasim 250-800 t/day; Vehari 150,000 t/yr rising to 300,000 t/yr) are the companies' own published sites; none is a CBIL counterparty.