Biotech Updates

China Considers Planting of Pest Resistant Corn

April 20, 2016

China has been planning to prioritize development of edible and non-edible GM crops, said Director General of Department of Science, Technology and Education, Liao Xiyuan, during a press conference on biotech developments held in Beijing on April 13, 2016.

In 2015, China imported 81.7 million tons of soybean products, which makes up 87.8% of the total demand in the country. Liao noted that majority of these products are genetically modified since 82% of the total soybean plantings in the world are biotech. He stressed that China cannot afford to be left behind in the global GM development, thus they will keep on working on independent innovation initiatives. Aside from improving the cultivation of commercialized biotech cotton, China also plans to push forward the cultivation of pest resistant biotech corn over the next five years.

Read the news release from the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China.