China approved two new varieties of genetically modified (GMO) crops for import June 12, after the world’s top buyer of GMO soybeans pledged to speed up a review of biotech products as part of a recent trade deal with the United States.
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The new GMO varieties are Dow AgroSciences’ Enlist corn and Monsanto’s Vistive Gold soybean, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement….
China does not permit the planting of genetically modified food crops but does allow GMO imports, such as soybeans, for use in its animal feed industry.
But getting a new GMO crop variety approved for import by China takes around six years, compared with under three in other major markets, forcing leading agrichemical players to restrict sales during China’s review process.
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In May, Beijing promised to speed up the evaluations of eight U.S. varieties of GMO crops by the end of the month under a trade deal with the United States.
Industry comments suggest Beijing could issue additional product approvals in coming months.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: China approves two new GMO crop varieties for import, renews 14: agriculture ministry
