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Mar 13, 2015
The CEOs of ASA, USB and USSEC, along with USSEC Chair Laura Foell are in China this week meeting with Chinese government officials and industry leaders about China's biotech approval process. China's biotech approvals process has gone from slow but predictable -- taking approximately 28 months -- to now taking 40 months or more.
With a number of new soybean traits in the pipeline and ready for commercialization, the U.S. soy family is interested to securing timely approval of new traits, while safeguarding U.S. soy exports to China. The purpose of this trip is to assess current and potential strategies to accomplish this goal. Key points emphasized are that farmers worldwide need access to new seed technologies if they are to meet growing Chinese and world demand for soy in the face of increasing weed and disease pressures. Chinese demand for soy is growing 3 to 5 million metric tons per year as Chinese farmers use soy in feed rations to increase production of meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products for Chinese consumers. Thus, there is shared interest in a timely, transparent and science-based biotech approval process for new seed technologies so we can meet China's food security needs today and into the future.
