By Van Khoa

Vietnam will trial genetically modified (GM) corn for animal feed early next
year and then possibly breed GM corn plants for local farmers, an expert
said Monday.
Dr. Nguyen Quoc Binh, executive vice director of the Biotechnology Center of
Ho Chi Minh City, said local farmers would only be allowed to grow GM corn
if, after two years of the experimental crops, GM corn was found to be
biologically and environmentally safe.

Vietnam cannot plant GM corn now because no biological safety regulations
have been issued by the government, Binh said on the sidelines of the
?Biotechnology: Growing the Future? seminar, co-organized by the U.S.
Embassy in Hanoi and the Biotechnology Center.

Initially, GM corn would most likely be imported from the Philippines, which
has a similar climate to Vietnam, Binh said. Local breeds of GM corn would
later be developed, he said.

If Vietnamese farmers plant GM corn, they could earn US$100 a hectare more
than what they earn from normal corn, Binh said.

Currently, Vietnamese farmers harvest nearly four tons of normal corn per
hectare, while American farmers get nine to 11 tons per hectare of GM corn,
Binh said.

Vietnam imports about $500 million worth of corn each year. The nation is
expected to need about 5.5 million tons this year, demand that is forecast
to rise to eight million tons in 2010.

This year the country is expected to grow about four million tons.
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