Beijing: China is planning to plant genetically modified varieties of corn this year which would be around less than 1% of its total corn crop, said people close to the development, reports The Print.
A senior manager at a Chinese seed development said that the agriculture ministry has outlined around 4 million mu (267,000 hectares or 660,000 acres) area to be planted with genetically modified or GMO corn this year.
China had allowed the importation of GMO soybeans and corn for use in animal feed and the planting of GMO cotton but had never permitted the planting of GMO food crops though it had studied them for several years.
This is not a full-fledged commercial release but a large-scale trial said another person associated with the development.
Last year the country had planted corn on about 43 million hectares and produced 277 million tonnes of corn. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has not commented on the issue so far.
