By William Bi, Feiwen Rong

China, the world's biggest grain consumer, plans to grow genetically
modified corn and soybeans for the first time starting next year, the
country's largest independent agricultural researcher said.
The country now has the technology and is ready to use it to create
"sustainable growth'' in farming incomes and boost grain output, Hanver Li,
managing director of Shanghai JC Intelligence Co., said in an interview at a
forum in Chengdu.

China, the most populous country and the top user of edible oil made from
soybeans, is seeking to boost domestic food supplies as rising incomes drive
consumption and shortages of water and farmland crimp output. Increasing use
of GM varieties may help companies such as Monsanto Co., the world's biggest
seed producer, capture market share.

"There is pressure to develop biotechnology to raise grains output because
of its increased use in food, feed, and even alternative energy,'' Ma
Wenfeng, Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant Ltd., said today by phone
from Beijing.

Record prices for corn, soybeans, wheat and rice this year because of
increased demand for food and biofuel sparked riots from Haiti to Egypt and
spurred political leaders to talk of a global food crisis. Genetically
modified, or GM, crops may boost yields and help solve the issue, analysts
say.

Slow Approval

Ma hadn't heard the government would permit commercial cultivation of
genetically modified corn and soybeans. "Big- scale cultivation takes time
and I think small-scale expansion or experiment is more likely,'' Ma said.

Until now, the Chinese government has slowed approvals of genetically
altered seeds because of safety concerns and the risk that it would weaken
controls on imported grain.

"The government has done all the preparations,'' Li said, citing his
contacts with state officials. China currently allows imports of genetically
modified corn and soybeans.

The Ministry of Agriculture's GMO Safety Regulation Office declined
immediate comment when contacted by telephone.

GM crops contain a gene from another organism, giving the plants
characteristics such as resistance to herbicides and the ability to produce
their own toxins to kill pests. Critics say there may be health and
environmental consequences over time.

Monsanto, the biggest producer of GM varieties, has argued the food crisis
may be solved as higher-yielding GM crops become available for farmers.
China yesterday approved Monsanto's higher-yielding Roundup Ready 2 Yield
soybeans for food and feed use, Monsanto said in a statement on its Web
site.

Food Supplies

Ensuring China's people have enough to eat has become a top priority of the
government, which on July 10 said it will speed up development of
genetically modified technology, develop home- grown biotechnology by
creating new strains and seeds resistant to herbicides, insects and
diseases, while producing high yields.

Xi Yinsheng, researcher at the Center for Rural Economy at the Ministry of
Agriculture, said he hadn't heard the government was going to allow
commercial cultivation of genetically modified corn or soybean seeds.

"Still, I cannot rule out such a possibility at this stage either,'' Xi said
by phone from Beijing. "There is some experimental planting on a small scale
and many domestic seed companies have been studying the technology for a
long time.''

China has already invested heavily in biotechnology, and first approved use
of engineered cotton seeds in 1997, Huang Jikun, director of the Center for
Chinese Agricultural Policy, said in February. Engineered plants approved by
China include cotton, petunia, tomato, sweet pepper, poplar trees and
papaya.

www.checkbiotech.org