(Jack Dykinga photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Brazil millers oppose sale of GMO wheat

Importing costs would rise, Abitrigo says, as Argentina approves new wheat

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian wheat millers association Abitrigo opposes the approval of genetically modified wheat products for sale in Brazil, saying it will make imports of the cereal more costly and impact prices on the domestic market. The statement comes after Argentine authorities approved a new genetically modified wheat that can resist drought […] Read more

File photo of a wheat crop in Argentina. (Gracieross/iStock/Getty Images)

Argentina approves drought-tolerant GM wheat

Variety would need Brazil approval before going commercial

MarketsFarm — Argentina has become the first country in the world to approve cultivation and consumption of a genetically modified wheat variety, the country’s National Commission for Science and Technology (CONICET) announced Thursday. “This is the first approval in the world for drought-tolerant genetic transformation in wheat,” CONICET said in a statement. Argentina is the […] Read more



Fall armyworm. (Omafra.gov.on.ca)

China certifies three domestic GM traits

Beijing | Reuters — China’s agriculture ministry issued biosafety certificates on Tuesday for domestically grown, genetically modified (GM) corn and soybean traits, moving closer to commercialization of GM grain production in the world’s top market. The certificates, valid from Dec. 2, 2019 until Dec. 2, 2024, were granted to a corn trait developed by Beijing […] Read more


Genetically modified cotton plants with an edible cottonseed trait are seen growing near Belvidere in northeastern North Carolina. (Texas A+M University handout via Reuters)

U.S. regulators allow GM cotton as human food source

Washington | Reuters — U.S. regulators on Friday gave the green light for genetically modified cotton to be used for human consumption, paving the way for a protein-packed new food source — edible cottonseed that tastes a bit like chickpeas — that its developers said could help tackle global malnutrition. The Food and Drug Administration’s […] Read more



File photo of a soybean plantation in Brazil. (Mailson Pignata/iStock/Getty Images)

Brazil urges China to improve GMO approvals

Brasilia | Reuters –– Brazil Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo said on Thursday that the country must work with China to reduce non-tariff barriers to agriculture trade, including improving the process for genetically modified goods. Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of soybeans, the vast majority of which are genetically modified organisms (GMO). Many newer GMOs, […] Read more

A file photo of rapeseed fields near Vouziers in France’s Ardennes department. (Photopixal/iStock/Getty Images)

French rapeseed farmers destroy 18,000 hectares over GMO risk

Paris | Reuters — French farmers destroyed a total of 18,000 hectares of rapeseed, more than double the area initially expected, following the discovery of a non-authorized genetically modified organism (GMO) in seeds, German group Bayer said on Friday. Bayer had announced in February that farmers in France and Germany were turning over thousands of […] Read more



The arrest in Vancouver of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, shown here with Russian President Vladimir Putin at an investment forum in Moscow in October 2014, has further dampened hopes of revived commodity flows between the U.S. and China. (File photo: Reuters/Alexander Bibik)

Canadian canola runs into Chinese delays after Huawei arrest

Winnipeg/Beijing | Reuters — A political dispute between China and Canada over the arrest of a Huawei executive is slowing canola shipments through Chinese ports and causing some importers to hesitate to buy from their biggest supplier, according to interviews with a dozen traders. Since Canadian authorities arrested Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in […] Read more