International Federation of Soybean growers lobbied China to approve genetically modified varieties

At the 2015 Biotechnology and Global Soybean Trade Forum held by the International Soybean growers Union (ISGA) in Beijing on April 21, the 21st Century Economic report learned that the International Soybean growers Union will communicate with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture in the hope that the Chinese policy authorities will speed up the approval process of new GM soybean varieties.

On the same day, a report by Yang Jun, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics, and Huang Ji, director of the Agricultural Policy Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, showed that the United States approved 13 genetically modified soybean varieties for commercial cultivation, but of these 13 varieties, China only approved the import of Roundup Ready, Genuity Roundup Ready2 Yield, and LibertyLink. The speed of approval in China is much lower than that of the US authorities.

China is the world's leading importer of genetically modified soybeans, importing 71.4 million tons last year. It is expected to import 74 million tons this year. The main sources of China's soybean imports are the United States, Brazil and Argentina. On April 21, Zhang Liwei, a researcher at the State Grain and Oil Information, said in a personal speech that "almost all the increase in global soybean imports since 1996 has come from China."

According to the report by Yang Jun and Huang Jigong, it takes 2-3 years for a GM soybean variety to be approved for listing in China, and an application for import of GM products needs to be approved by the research and development country of the GM technology product before it can be applied to Chinese regulators.

The International Federation of Soybean growers believes that if the approval process is too long and goes beyond the scope necessary to ensure safety under the scientific premise, biotechnology will not be able to play a role in the market.

Hope to shorten the approval cycle

The International Soybean growers' Union is composed of representatives of soybean growers and industry associations from the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and other soybean growers, representing the interests of the soybean industry of most exporting countries, such as the United States, Brazil and Argentina.

On the same day, the alliance released a white paper entitled "the impact of Soybean Biotechnology delays on Global Soybean production, supply and demand". Genetically modified crops developed through biotechnology innovations must be subject to regulatory approval before they can be planted in the field and enter the food supply chain. In order to ensure its environmental safety and food safety, appropriate delays in market access are worth it.

However, the alliance also pointed out that if the approval process is too long and goes beyond the scope necessary to ensure safety under the scientific premise, biotechnology will not be able to play a role in the market. In the short term, it will greatly reduce the benefits of consumers and producers, and in the long run, it will have a negative impact on the overall process of innovation. Take genetically modified soybeans as an example, their production is mainly to provide soybean meal (2743, 27.00,0.99%) protein for livestock breeding. If the production and supply is insufficient due to the delay in biotechnology approval, it will lead to an increase in the cost of animal husbandry, thus unable to meet people's demand for meat, eggs and milk.

According to an interview with a reporter from the 21st Century Economic report, the alliance will also exchange views with China's Ministry of Agriculture to reflect the alliance's views, speed up the process of examination and approval of import GM laws and regulations by China's agricultural authorities, and shorten the examination and approval cycle.

A member of the American Soybean Association told the 21st Century Economic Herald: for a long time, the approval process for new varieties has led to many difficulties for growers. If biotechnology investors and developers do not get a return on their long-term investment, they will lose the incentive to continue investment and research and development.

The representative of the Paraguayan Soybean producers Association said that "I fully understand the decision of various countries to adopt biotechnology, but it should also be noted that after 10-20 years of planting, we have enough experience and scientific basis, and we hope to share it with Chinese farmers."

According to the GM data released on the official website of the Ministry of Agriculture, according to the statistics of the 21st Century Economic report, at present, the Ministry of Agriculture has approved the import of 41 varieties of genetically modified soybeans, corn (2506, 0.0000%) and rapeseed (0,-4695.00,-100.00%). Among them, there are 9 genetically modified soybean varieties.

LIoyd C.Day, deputy director-general of the Inter-American Association for Agricultural Cooperation, pointed out in the speech that approval decisions are made separately by countries and are costly, about US $35 million, and it will take about 100 months to obtain approval. Slow or out-of-sync approval, coupled with a zero tolerance policy for unapproved varieties, has led to disruptions in international trade and higher prices, he said.

In particular, he cited MIR162 corn as an example, which was approved by the United States in 2010 but not by China until the end of 2014.

Yang Jun pointed out that China has its own regulatory procedures for the management and examination and approval of imported GM products. "applications for import licenses for GM products need to be submitted after the product has been approved by the country of origin," and the approval process will take 2-3 years.

The country of origin refers to the country where the genetically modified varieties are developed, not the approved planting country. Yang Jun said that the cost of approving imported GM varieties includes management costs, testing costs of imported goods and personnel costs.

Yang Jun also said that if we want to speed up approval, we need to establish global common standards, establish R & D management norms and communication mechanisms, especially data sharing, so as to shorten the approval cycle.

The attraction of the Chinese market

As the world's largest importer of genetically modified soybeans, China's huge demand has made major soybean exporters want to enter the Chinese market faster.

Zhang Liwei pointed out that in 2014, China imported 71.4 million tons of GM soybeans, including 32 million tons from Brazil, 30 million tons from the United States and 6 million tons from Argentina. Soybean imports from the three countries account for 95.24% of China's imports.

Zhang Liwei expects China to import 74 million tons of soybeans in 2015. From 1996 to 2014, China's soybean imports increased by an average of 3.74 million tons a year, and almost all of the increase in global soybean imports came from China.

According to the data provided by the International Soybean growers Federation, there are 7 newly approved GM soybean varieties, including 5 herbicide-resistant varieties and 2 high-oil and insect-resistant varieties. These are owned by Dow Yinong, Monsanto, Bayer and DuPont Pioneer, of which DuPont pioneer Plenish GM soybeans have been approved by China and the others have not yet been obtained.

Multinational corporations have made rapid progress in the research and development and commercial cultivation of genetically modified products. New products can soon be approved and commercially planted in the United States, South America and other places, but they have not been approved for import in China. This also puts genetically modified varieties research and development companies at risk.

MIR162 genetically modified corn is a clear example. From October 2013 to June 2014, domestic quality inspection authorities have returned 1.252 million tons of US corn and other products containing MIR162 genetically modified ingredients without import permits. At the end of December, Chinese regulators approved a safety certificate for MIR162 genetically modified corn, allowing it to be imported.

Although there is a huge demand for imported soybeans, regulators are more cautious about approving new varieties of imported GM soybeans. At the end of December 2014, Bayer crop Science announced that China had formally approved the import of one of the company's genetically modified soybean LL55, which took seven years to obtain a Chinese safety license.