China is ramping up production of genetically modified corn and soybean seeds

China has officially approved a list of seed companies that are allowed to grow and sell genetically modified soybean and corn seeds. The move is aimed at reducing China's dependence on grain imports from the US and Brazil, which currently stands at about 100 million tonnes a year, The Star reported. China's Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Rural Affairs issued permits to 26 domestic companies, according to the report. Among them are Beijing Dabeinong Technology, units of Yuan Long Ping High-Tech Agriculture and China National Seed, which are part of the Syngenta Group. Other licensed firms are located in key grain regions such as Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin and Inner Mongolia. Chinese agronomists plan to plant about 670,000 hectares of genetically modified corn in eight provinces next year, more than double the 2023 planting, three industry sources said. However, the Beijing government is expected to strictly control the use of GMOs. It is also reported that large-scale testing of GM ...