Transgenic Horticultural Crops in Asia - Transgenic Horticultural Crops: Challenges and Opportunities - page 159

the.Philippines.are.the.largest.exporter.of.fruits.and.vegetables.while.Japan,.India,.
Hong.Kong,.South.Korea,.and.Singapore.are.the.top.importers. 24
It.is.evident.that.horticultural.crops.in.Asia.represent.an.enormous.opportunity.for.
appropriate.agricultural.biotechnology.applications.that.can.help.develop.and.com-
mercially.deploy.a.broad.range.of.improved.horticultural.products.that.meet.national.
and.regional.needs..This.mostly.explains.the.extensive.level.of.biotech.research.and.
development. on. horticultural. crops. in. the. region. as. elaborated. in. the. succeeding.
sections.
OVERVIEW OF CURRENT ADOPTION
OF TRANSGENIC CROPS IN ASIA
Of. the. 25. countries. that. reportedly. planted. transgenic. (or. biotech). crops. in. 2009,.
three. mega-biotech. countries. (countries. that. are. growing. 50,000.ha. or. more). are.
developing.countries.in.Asia..These.are.India.(8.4.million.ha),.China.(3.7.million.ha),.
and. the. Philippines. (0.5. million. ha).. Their. combined. areas. accounted. for. 9.4%. of.
the.total.global.area.planted.to.biotech.crops.in.2009. 9 .While.China,.India,.and.the.
Philippines.are.the.only.countries.in.Asia.cultivating.biotech.crops,.other.countries.
in.the.region.have.granted.regulatory.approvals.for.their.importation.and.direct.use.
for. food,. feed. or. processing. only.. However,. there. are. still. many. countries. in. the.
region. that. have. no. oficial. record. of. granting. approval. for. both. planting. and. for.
direct. use. of. any. transgenic. crops. although. trade. of. commodities. between. these.
Asian.countries.and.countries.growing.transgenic.crops.are.on.going.realities..Many.
of.these.countries.in.Asia.are.parties.to.the.Cartagena.Protocol.but.are.still.in.vari-
ous. stages. of. approval. or.in.very. early. phases. of.implementation. of. their. national.
biosafety.framework,.laws,.and.guidelines.
Table.7.2.presents.a.summary.of.number.of.regulatory.approvals.of.the.various.
transgenic.crops.and.traits.in.the.region.as.of.2009..Asian.countries.with.most.num-
ber. of. regulatory. approvals.are.Japan,.South. Korea,. Philippines,. and. China.. Only.
China.and.the.Philippines.have.planted.biotech.food.crops.in.the.region..Japan.has.
the.most.number.of.approvals,.second.only.to.the.United.States.but.does.not.have.any.
commercial.planting.of.any.of.the.approved.transgenic.crops.due.to.market.factors.
and.consumer.acceptance..Interestingly,.India,.which.ranks.fourth.in.global.produc-
tion.of.transgenic.crops,.has.only.approved.Bt.cotton..It.is.also.evident.in.Table.7.2.
that.the.majority.of.regulatory.approvals.granted.are.for.agronomic.or.ield.crops,.
which.was.not.surprising..Of.the.total.number.of.approvals.granted,.those.given.for.
horticultural. crops. accounted.for. only. 18%. of. planting. and.12%. for. direct. use. for.
food.and.feed..A.closer.inspection.of.Table.7.2.shows.that.the.only.horticultural.food.
crops. approved. for. planting. are. all. grown. in. China.. Japan. has. given. approval. for.
ornamentals.but.these.are.not.planted.in.the.ield..The.Philippines.has.only.approved.
transgenic.horticultural.food.crop.for.direct.use.for.food.and.feed.such.as.potato..In.
terms.of.traits,.single.event.“input.traits”.led.by.herbicide.tolerance,.dominate.the.
approvals..Overall,.Asia's.total.number.of.approvals.for.commercial.cultivation.of.
transgenic.crops.is.still.quite.few..This.scenario.is.expected.to.change.dramatically.
within.the.next.5.years.in.light.of.recent.developments.in.crop.biotechnology.in.the.