Explainer | 6 things to know about China’s GM food development amid Beijing’s food security push
- China has approved genetically modified (GM) soybeans, corn, cotton and papaya to be grown for commercial purposes
- Around 267,000 hectares (660,000 acres) of GM crops were planted as part of trial projects last year
With Beijing’s increasing emphasis on food security, a new era for China’s seed industry began last year when regulators made a major push for the use of genetically modified (GM) food by approving large-scale, commercial planting of two staple crops.
After over a decade of debate and prudent trial planting, China is accelerating commercialisation of higher-yielding GM crops as part of its efforts to improve agricultural efficiency in response to President Xi Jinping’s call for greater self-sufficiency to feed its 1.4 billion people.
1. What types of GM crops are being grown in China?
GM soybeans, corn, cotton and papaya have been approved to be grown for commercial purposes in China, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, which oversees the application of the technology.
Over the past decade, the ministry has limited commercial planting to papaya and cotton, but expanded the scope significantly in October 2023 by giving the greenlight to 37 GM corn varieties and 14 GM soybean varieties.
And in a second batch in March, it also approved 27 additional corn and three soybean varieties.