China to approve GM Seeds due to increasing pressure on food grain self-sufficiency
19 January 2023, China: A GMO validation meeting with 20 different product varieties was recently conducted by China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. A pilot sale of GM maize seeds might start in the first quarter of 2023 if the seed varieties are officially approved.
18 trait varieties are expected to be announced, according to the most recent information from the market.
The GM industry in China is currently working on a list of key seeds to produce in 2023, and manufacturers are creating the unique packaging needed for GM seeds. Production and sale can officially begin after the seed varieties are approved.
China imported 86% of its soybeans and 4% of its corn on average over the previous five years. China has started to buy more grain than ever before as of 2020. It is anticipated that the cultivation of high-yield, high-quality, multi-resistant, and high-efficient novel varieties will partially ease resource restrictions and boost China’s self-sufficiency.
Traders think that several unfavorable circumstances, along with the uncertainties of the external environment, are currently having an impact on the world’s food supply. Consequently, achieving seed independence, self-control, and the autonomous development of seed technology has become a national strategy. GMO industrialization won’t take very long in the context of reviving China’s seed sector.
In China, the gap between supply and demand for some agricultural crops, such as corn and soybeans, is expected to worsen, even after the introduction of GMOs. The yield increase will happen over a period of a few years when all the farmers have the availability of GM seeds. The market for genetically modified corn seed might be worth RMB 60 billion. It may have a profit margin of RMB 10.8 billion.
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