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China will launch a nationwide investigation over the suspected illegal cultivation of genetically-modified crops, the agriculture ministry has posted on its website.

The investigation follows a report by an official financial newspaper this week that genetically-modified soybeans have been found in the country’s top growing area for the oilseed.

China is the world’s top buyer of genetically-modified soybeans, but Beijing has not given the go-ahead for domestic cultivation of genetically altered crops, although it has spent billions on research.

However, some farmers in the northeast province of Heilongjiang are growing GM soy crops illegally to seek higher yields, the China Business Journal reported this week.