China’s
authorities have approved the import of two new GMO crops into the country. The
products are corn and soybean. It is expected, the at the government will deal
faster with approvals in the future, since the process last about double as
long as in other countries.
Source: Pixabay
The
Chinese government has approved the import of two more varieties of genetically
modified crops. The crops that have been approved are a corn variety from Dow
Chemical and a soybean variety from Monsanto. The approvals will last for three
years first, running out in 2020 and can be renewed.
In
China, foreign companies must obtain safety certificates issued by the Ministry
of Agriculture, in order to export GMO crops to the market. Testing, production
and marketing are subject to government approval. According to market
intelligence firm CCM, In 2016, China only approved one new GMO for import -
Bayer CropScience AG’s GM soybean.
In
general, manufacturers and traders have to wait several years to get approval
for GMOs in China. Twice as much as other countries. However, as the largest
importer of soybeans and important importer of corn, many companies are
applying for the approval of their crops to get some share in the market.
Getting a new GMO crop variety approved for import by China takes up to seven
years, compared with under three in other major markets, forcing leading
agrichemical players to restrict sales during China's review process.
Dow
continues to await Chinese approval for its similarly engineered Enlist
soybeans.
Additionally,
to the approval of the two GMOs, China’s government has also renewed the
approval for 14 other GMOS that are being imported to China.
However,
the largest part of China’s population is still very sceptic against
genetically modified crops, which gives China’s government a hard time to deal
with new approvals. The country wants to increase the comparably weak
efficiency of farmers with new GMOs and need to convince the users of the
safety in the application. Despite increasing varieties and volumes of import
agricultural GMOs being approved in China, the country still remains cautious
about the development of transgenesis. GMOs will still be restricted in volumes
and methods of use though they have various advantages.
It
is worth noting, that the government only approves the import of GMO seeds, but
not the farming in China per se. The GMO imports are used in the animal feed
industry, as the population is not willing to consume the modified crops yet.
The
deal of ChinaChem with Swiss Syngenta is a step in the direction of using more
genetically modified crops, according to industry experts. The government
demonstrates with this acquisition the effort to drive deeper into the
production of GMOS and may open the market over time.
China’s
strict importing rules for genetically modified foods have caused some trouble
for companies in the past. Syngenta for example was charged more than USD217
million for farmers in the USA, which complained about the careless marketing
of GMO seeds which lost them the export sales to China.
China’s
government currently allows five different GMO products to be imported into the
country. These products are soybeans, corn, cotton, rapeseed, and sugar beets.
However, the authorities are working on the regulations for importing GMO
potatoes as well, which might get approval soon and will be used in consumable
products like potato chips, French fries, and other processed food products.
At
present, only cotton and papaya among GM crops are approved to grow
commercially in China. Others can only be used as raw material for processing.
About CCM
CCM
is the leading market intelligence provider for China’s agriculture, chemicals,
food & ingredients and life science markets.
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