The current legislation banning GM crops was due to expire on April 29.

But SA Agriculture Minister Rory McEwen said that under the terms of the Act, the Government was required to undertake a further six week period of public consultation, which included a series of public meetings around the State in March.

"This provided individuals, community organisation and the grains industry with a further opportunity to have their say on GM crops and include any updated information for the State Government to take into account," Mr McEwan said.

"The six weeks of public consultation showed there's a divergence of opinion about the impact of GM crop cultivation on markets and trade for our produce," he said.

"This came up in the seven public meetings, the 38 letters and 83 formal submissions.

"However, 81pc of the submissions and 97pc of the letters supported retaining the moratorium.

"Our view is that at present we believe there's no compelling reason to lift the ban for growing GM crops for human consumption in SA."

Mr McEwen said the Government would be closely watching to see how NSW and Victoria address the key issues of segregation and regulation, as well as monitoring the benefits of keeping the moratorium in WA and Tasmania.