February 24, 2005

Biotechnology to increase competitiveness of US wheat

A range of biotechnology advancements is seen to help the US wheat industry stay competitive.

According to Sherman Reese, vice president of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), "The hope and promise of biotechnology is so compelling and the faster we can do it, the better off we'll be."

NAWG chief executive officer Daren Coppock said that biotech is critical for the future of the wheat industry, and that they have a limited amount of time to get it turned around.

However, biotech wheat could be more difficult to export than traditional varieties, particularly into Europe, where consumer opinion still seems to be fixed, on the whole, against GM crops.