April 22, 2004

China Approves Biotech Corn
 
China has approved four corn and seven canola plant varieties that are genetically modified. This move swept away a potential barrier to trade, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said on Wednesday.
 
Speaking to reporters after a series of meetings with Chinese officials on wide-ranging trade matters, Veneman added that China was also considering the approval of two additional biotech corn varieties.
 
"We have a commitment from the Chinese that these will be reviewed in May," Veneman said.
 
China's demand for foreign farm products, including grains and oilseeds, cotton, hides and skins, has been rising significantly recently. U.S. farmers devote much of their soybean and corn acres to genetically modified plants.
 
Following a series of trade disruptions involving soybeans, Beijing adopted biotech regulations allowing U.S. soybeans to continue flowing to China last year.
 
Veneman said Beijing's latest action on biotech corn and canola "is critical to ensure that our exports are not restricted later in the year."
 
Over the past two years, China has been importing increasing amounts of corn. This year alone, its purchases are estimated by USDA to be at 100,000 metric tons, up from only 30,000 metric tons last year.
 
Chinese corn exports meanwhile are plummeting. USDA estimated shipments to be at 8 million metric tons this year, down from 15.2 million metric tons the year before.