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China Finds GMOs in Kazakh Rapeseed Oil

China's customs authorities reported rejecting 14 batches of rapeseed oil from Kazakhstan in December 2025 due to detection of genetically modified material in the shipments. The report said the rejected shipments totaling 811 metric tons had been purchased by Xiamen Agricultural Products Trading Company located on China's southeastern coast. The shipments were rejected by Chinese customs authorities in the Urumqi customs region that borders Kazakhstan. 

According to news from Kazakhstan this month, Chinese officials put 3 Kazakh plants on a blacklist, 2 had suspended operations, and 5 were on the brink of closure. One of the idled plants reportedly had Chinese ownership. A Kazakh industry official reported that the China market is vital to the industry's development strategy. 

The Kazakh article suggests there are disputes over the detections of GMOs: "Chinese importers periodically detect GMs in rapeseed oil shipments and return the cargo, although Kazakh laboratories do not confirm the presence of genetically modified components in the raw materials."

While China imports large amounts of edible oils made from genetically modified crops from Brazil, Argentina, and Canada, China's agreement with Kazakhstan requires that rapeseed oil exported to China must be produced from non-GM crops. Back in July 2024 the Kazakh oil processors' industry association identified the Chinese rejections as a barrier to the industry's development and called for elimination of the non-GMO requirement as soon as possible.

The Chinese report does not reveal that rapeseed oil rejections from Kazakhstan have a history. Chinese customs rejected 15 batches of Kazakh rapeseed oil in November 2025, 2 in September, and 1 in August, all for detection of genetically modified material. More Kazakh rapeseed oil shipments were rejected in January, March and April of 2024, also for detection of genetically modified material. Seven Kazakh companies were listed as exporters of rejected shipments over the past 2 years. China also rejected shipments of Russian rapeseed oil in October and December 2025 and 2 shipments from Belarus in August for detection of genetically modified material. Shipments of flour from Japan and Italy were rejected for containing GM material in 2025.

China has more importers of rejected Kazakh oil than indicated by the Chinese report. The December rejection report shows that 10 of the rejected shipments had been imported by the Xiamen trading company, but 3 were imported by a company that manages grain and oil reserves in the city of Xi'an and 1 rejected shipment was imported by a branch of a Hangzhou-based edible oil processor that operates in an ethnic Mongolian region of Xinjiang Autonomous region. Other importers of rejected Kazakh rapeseed oil in earlier months included a Beijing trading company, a branch of State-owned SinoChem and other grain companies in Xinjiang. 


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