China Expected to Commence GM Corn Planting

China is set to grow genetically modified (GM) corn varieties on small areas this year, serving as trial sites for a possible full market launch of the technology in the country.

According to seed industry representatives, the agriculture ministry plans to plant GM corn on 267,000 hectares in Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Hebei, and Yunnan provinces.  In 2022, a total of 43 million hectares of corn were planted in China, which led to 277 million tonnes of corn produce. However, there is a huge demand for hardier, high-yield gains. The trial planting is expected to start in two months, and the ministry's plans might still change until finalized, said the sources.

In 2019, ISAAA reported that Chinese farmers planted 3.2 million hectares of biotech cotton and biotech papaya. Farmers in China have benefited from biotech through high yields and significant cost savings on insecticide application, as well as on labor use.

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https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=20069