China Ratifies 7 Bio-safe GM Crops

2011-06-28 21:07:11 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Jiang

China has issued biological safety certificates for seven types of genetically modified crops, including cotton and papaya, the Xinhua news agency reported.

More than 5,000 mu (or 330 hectare) of pest-resistant cotton was grown in China last year. There had been relatively smaller growing papayas and small-scale cultivation of other GM crops, including long-storage tomatoes, changed-color petunias, disease-resistant peppers, pest-resistant rice and genetically-modified phytase corn.

The national agricultural GM bio-safety evaluation authority ratified imports of genetically-modified cotton, soybean, corn and rape. China only allows imported cotton to be used for planting, and the other three imports can only be used as materials for processing.

China has not ratified a single type of GM crop seed to be imported to the country for growing, the report said.

China's imports of GM crops mainly come from the U.S., Canada, Brazil and Argentina. The country imported more than 56 million tons of GM soybean and processed products last year.

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