A government body in China has given its approved safety certificates to 203 new genetically modified crops for planting and import purposes.
Official documents that came out Monday should pave the way for wider GMO adoption in the country.
The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs shared three lists of newly approved GMO crops, including soybeans, corn, cotton, papaya, and many others.
One market source told Agri Census Dot Com that, “It might be possible that China will open up domestic planting of GMO soybeans sometime soon.”
China has maintained tight restrictions on using GMO crops in domestic planting in the past.
However, it’s been more willing to import GMO crops in recent years, including soybeans, corn, and rapeseed.
Soybeans, corn, and rapeseed that were domestically produced within China are said to be non-GMO.
Two of the newly approved crops were developed in the U.S. and were licensed for import; One for soybeans and the other is papaya.
The newly approved certificates will be valid between three and five years, depending on the crop.
