China and biotechnology - USDA FAS

China - Peoples Republic of Post: Beijing Biotechnology USDA FAS

Executive Summary: On November 21, 2009, Beijing-based Origin Agritech announced that it is the first company to receive de-regulated status for genetically modified corn for planting in China. Confirmed by China’s Ministry of Agriculture, Origin’s phytase corn product recently received the final biosafety certificate that permits its domestic sale and marketing. Biosafety certificates restrict use to certain provinces and it is currently unclear in which provinces MOA has permitted the use of this product.

The deregulation of this product is a ground-breaking event in Chinese agriculture. Though Chinese leaders have long stated that the technology can be safely used given the proper safety evaluation and precautions, no large-scale commercially viable food crops have ever been granted a safety certificate. Prior to this announcement, the list of approved genetically modified plants approved for planting in China included: cotton, tomato, sweet pepper, petunia, poplar, and papaya. At this time, the only large-scale planting of approved biotech plants is cotton and poplar, while there is limited production of biotech papaya. China has approved over 200 varieties of biotech cotton for planting. China currently permits 28 varieties of corn, cotton, canola, sugar beet, and soybean to be imported for processing. While the granting of the safety certificate is a milestone, it will likely be several years before these seeds are in the hands of farmers. First, seed companies need to register individual seed varieties (conventional or biotech) with provincial authorities. This process of testing can take two years or more. Following the variety approval, the company would then need to replicate the seeds in the field to obtain enough seed for commercial sale. As a result, Chinese farmers may not see these seeds on sale until the 2012 planting season or beyond. Though farmers and livestock producers may want to see the technology in fields sooner, this is a normal timeframe of the development and marketing of new seeds in China, conventional or biotech.