Business Potential for Agricultural Biotechnology - Asian Productivity ...

Business Potential for Agricultural Biotechnology Products
provals have become an increasingly significant part of the total product development and commercialization
equation. Regulators and the scientists who support them must take care to assure
that data requirements are reasonable and designed to address true food, feed, and environmental
risks.
Global Status and Trends of Commercialized Biotechnology in Crops
Commercial crop biotechnology products consist of different crop varieties possessing specific
traits in any of four food, feed, and fiber crops, namely soybean, maize (corn), canola, and
cotton. In 2004, the global area grown with biotech crops was estimated at 81 million ha, made
up primarily of soybean, maize, cotton, and canola. Biotech soybean retained its position in 2004
as the biotech crop occupying the largest area, 48.4 million ha in 2004, with biotech maize in
second place at 19.3 million ha, biotech cotton in third place at 9.0 million ha, and finally canola
at 4.3 million ha. Between 1996 and 2003, a total of 21 countries, 11 developing and 10 industrial
countries, contributed to a 40-fold increase in the global area of biotech crops, from 1.7
million ha in 1996 to 67.7 million ha in 2003. Adoption rates for biotech crops during this period
have been unprecedented, and by recent agricultural industry standards they are the highest
adoption rates for improved crops, reflecting farmer satisfaction with products that offer substantial
benefits, including more convenient and flexible crop management, higher productivity
and/or net returns per hectare, health and social benefits, and a cleaner environment through decreased
use of conventional pesticides, which collectively contribute to a more sustainable agriculture.
There is a growing body of consistent and compelling evidence generated by public sector
institutions that clearly demonstrates the improved weed and insect pest control attainable
with biotech herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant Bt crops that also benefit from lower input
and production costs. Biotech crops offer substantial economic advantages to farmers compared
with corresponding conventional crops.
During the nine-year period 1996 to 2004, herbicide tolerance has consistently been the
dominant trait, with insect resistance second. In 2004, herbicide tolerance, deployed in soybean,
maize, canola, and cotton, occupied 72% of the 81.0 million ha. There were 15.6 million ha
planted to Bt crops, equivalent to 19%, with stacked genes for herbicide tolerance and insect resistance
deployed in both cotton and maize occupying 9% of the global biotech area in 2004.
The increase in Bt crops reflects the significant increase in Bt maize in 2004 (2.0 million ha) and
the increase of Bt cotton (1.4 million ha) in China, India, and Australia. Whereas most of the
growth in Bt maize occurred in the U.S., there were also significant increases in Bt maize area in
Argentina, Canada, South Africa, Spain, and the Philippines. The stacked traits of herbicide
tolerance and insect resistance in both maize and cotton increased by 17% in 2004, reflecting the
needs of farmers who must simultaneously address the multiple yield constraints associated with
various biotic stresses. Although the substantial share (66%) of biotech crops was grown in industrial
countries, the proportion of biotech crops grown in developing countries has increased
consistently every year, from 14% in 1997 to 16% in 1998, 18% in 1999, 24% in 2000, 26% in
2001, 27% in 2002, 30% in 2003, and 34% in 2004. Thus, in 2004, more than one-third of the
global biotech crop area of 81.0 million ha, equivalent to 27.6 million ha, was grown in developing
countries. For the first time the absolute growth in the biotech crop area between 2003 and
2004 was higher in developing countries (7.2 million ha) than in industrial countries (6.1 million
ha). Also, the percentage growth was almost three times as high (35%) in the developing countries
of the South compared to the industrial countries of the North (13%).
Seventeen countries grew biotech crops in 2004, 11 developing countries and 6 industrial
countries, including Romania from Eastern Europe. In 2004, biotech crops were grown commercially
in all six continents of the world: North America, Latin America, Asia, Oceania, Europe
(Eastern and Western), and Africa. The top eight countries, each growing half a million ha or
more of biotech crops in 2004, are the U.S., Argentina, Canada, Brazil, China, Paraguay, India,
and South Africa. These top eight biotech countries accounted for approximately 99% of the
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