On Feb. 16, 2023, the Government of China announced it will plant less than 1% of its corn fields with genetically modified varieties in 2023, dashing hopes for a full market launch of the technology in the world’s second-largest corn market.

The agriculture ministry designated around 4 million mu (267,000 hectares or 660,000 acres) to be planted with genetically modified or GMO corn this year, said a senior manager at a Chinese seed developer briefed on the plans.

China has studied GMO food crops for decades but has never permitted them to be planted because of opposition to the technology, although it allows imported GMO soybeans and corn for use in animal feed and the planting of GMO cotton. China planted about 43 million hectares of corn last year, producing a crop of 277 million tonnes, according to official data.

Despite official wariness over GMO crops, there is huge demand for hardier, high-yield grains. In China’s breadbasket in the northeast, illegally sown GM corn makes up about 70% of the acreage, according to a state media report in 2021.

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