AgroPages-Delays in GMO approvals created trade disruptions in China-Agricultural news

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Biotechnology is designated as a strategic emerging industry in China, and the government invests heavily in biotechnology research, according to ‘China - Agricultural biotechnology annual report’ published by USDA. In September 2014, the government released remarks by President Xi Jinping affirming official support for biotechnology research, but calling for a cautious approach to commercialization. He also said that foreign companies should not be allowed to “dominate the agricultural biotechnology product market.” This is the first time remarks by President Xi on biotechnology have been made public.

Despite major investment and high level support for biotechnology research, the approval process for agricultural biotechnology cultivation and import has become increasingly slow and unpredictable. After lengthy delays, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) approved two new soybean and one corn variety for import in December 2014. These were the first new approvals since June 2013.

In July 2014, MOA cited public acceptance as the basis for delaying approval of one of the two recently approved soybean varieties. This is the first time MOA exclusively cited non-scientific concerns in refusing to approve an import application. MOA also chose to allow the biosafety certificates issued to Chinese developed biotech rice and corn to expire in August 2014 without completing the final required registration step needed for commercialization.

The development of China’s agricultural biotechnology sector has been challenged by the lack of a clear path to commercialization, inconsistent protection of intellectual property, foreign investment bans, and the fragmented nature of China’s seed industry. Chinese seed companies are still working on developing biotech seeds, and some hope to be able to commercialize domestically developed varieties of biotech corn in the next three to five years. To date, China has not approved any foreign biotech food or feed crops for domestic commercial production. There have been reports of farmers in China planting unapproved insect resistant varieties of corn and rice to cope with rising pest pressures, but it is still unclear how widespread this trend is.

China’s increasingly slow and unpredictable approval process resulted in large-scale trade disruptions in 2014. Over the past year the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has rejected over one millions tons of corn and DDGS due to detections of MIR 162; the trait was approved in the United States in 2010, but not approved for import into China until December 11, 2014. According to industry, these trade disruptions have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. Trade in other products, such as alfalfa, have also suffered from biotech related trade disruptions. Despite these challenges, China is expected to remain a significant importer of biotech products, notably soybeans. The United States has continued to press China to adhere to a science-based policy on biotechnology approvals.

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