Corn area hits new record in the Iberian Peninsula

Spain remains the leading EU producer of GE corn with 116,307 ha planted in 2012, followed by Portugal with a 9,278 ha. These two countries account for over 90 per cent of the total EU-27 area planted to MON810. In Spain and Portugal, the area planted to GE corn grew by 20 per cent compared to previous year.

An increased total area planted to corn along with farmers’ steady support of GE crops have resulted in record GE corn plantings in the Iberian Peninsula for the second consecutive year.

Statistical data recently released by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (MAGRAMA) show how total area planted to corn has grown by nearly five per cent compared to last year, reaching 388,470 ha, up from 369,613 ha in 2011.

While area planted to corn has remained fairly stable in most of the regions, it has experienced significant increases in Extremadura (24 per cent), Andalucía (16 per cent) and Castile-La Mancha (14 per cent).

At the same time, a new record has been set in terms of area planted to MON 810, estimated at 116,307 ha, which represents a 20 per cent increase compared to 2011 data.

Thus, based on current official estimates of total corn and Bt corn area, MON 810 would represent about 30 per cent of total area planted to corn, the largest GE corn share since the beginning of its commercial cultivation in Spain.

Estimated area planted to MON 810 is calculated by MAGRAMA assuming a planting density of 85,000 seeds per hectare, and since 2009, MAGRAMA data include not only corn varieties in the national register in the EU common catalogue, but also those varieties granted with a provisional authorisation.