Brasília, 5/12/2004 (Agência Brasil) - On the eve of an official visit by president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, China has suspended imports of soybeans from four large Brazilian suppliers, Noble, Cargill, Irmãos Trevisan S/A e Bianchini S/A, claiming that they have found seeds contaminated by chemicals in a soybean shipment which arrived in China on April 18. According to Chinese authorities, the presence of chemically-treated seeds mixed with soybeans is an infraction of mutually agreed upon quality standards.

At the moment, China is the world's biggest importer of soybeans, importing billions of dollars of the product from Brazil, Argentina and the United States.

Brazilian authorities received notice of the problem at the end of April and have tightened sanitation oversight of soybean shipments. The chemically-treated seeds are used for planting and are improper for human consumption. Brazilian officials are investigating to determine how the seeds were mixed with soybeans.

Translator: Allen Bennett