China plans overhaul of seed rules to pave way for GMO approvals (updated)

Origin Agritech

15/11/2021 03:52

(Changes date, adds share moves, comment)
    By Dominique Patton
    BEIJING, Nov 15 (Reuters) - China plans an overhaul of its
seed regulations setting out a clear path for approval of
genetically modified crops, in a major step towards
commercialising GM corn.
    The changes mean that a handful of recently approved GM
traits developed by Chinese companies could be ready for market
launch in a year.
    "It's a big step," said Liu Shi, a vice president of Beijing
Dabeinong Technology Group Co Ltd  002385.SZ , which has several
GM traits approved as safe and is expected to be one of the
first firms to commercialise GM corn in China.
    Shares of Dabeinong shares fell 6% on Monday, while those of
rival Yuan Longping High-Tech Agriculture Co Ltd  000998.SZ 
fell 10%. 
    China's leadership called last year for an urgent
"turnaround" in the seed industry, which is struggling with
overcapacity and rampant infringement of intellectual property
that has stifled innovation.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2IZ059
    Details of the overhaul were published on Friday by the
agriculture ministry in a draft document that is open for public
comment until Dec. 12. 
    Investors had long priced in government support for GM
breeding, said an agriculture analyst with a Shanghai-based
investment fund who declined to be identified.
    The changes implement decisions by the cabinet and the
powerful central committee of the ruling Communist Party on safe
management of GMOs and development of a modern seed industry,
the ministry of agriculture and rural affairs said in its
statement.
    Top policymakers have also urged progress in biotech
breeding, or GM crops, seen as key to ensuring food security.
    Beijing, which has invested heavily in GM research and
development for years, has been cautious about commercialising
plants in the food chain, barring planting of GM soybeans or
corn, despite allowing imports for use in animal feed.
    The key changes bring China's regulations more in line with
those of other markets.
    If a GM trait, also known as an 'event', has already been
approved as safe by the agriculture ministry, it can be
integrated into an already approved corn hybrid, for example,
and only requires a one-year production trial to verify that the
combination is still safe.
    Previously, it was thought that China might require the
product to once again undergo all safety trials from scratch. 
    "It clarifies the procedures for GMO variety approvals and
simplifies the process," said Han Gengchen, chairman of Origin
Agritech Ltd  SEED.O , the first Chinese company to develop GM
corn crops.
    "It will accelerate GMO corn commercial production."
    The proposal followed last week's plenum, or closed-door
meeting, of more than 300 top leaders of the party's central
committee.


 (Reporting by Dominique Patton; Editing by Hugh Lawson and
Clarence Fernandez)
 ((dominique.patton@thomsonreuters.com;))