By Li Hongmei
Liu Yonghao, chairman of the Chengdu-based agribusiness enterprise New Hope Group, recently admitted that its animal feed uses genetically modified (GM) corn, although he didn't reveal to what extent, according to China Economic Net citing Guangzhou-based Times Weekly.
Liu, 62, has been in the agricultural industry for three decades. The media has termed his open admittance as a brave move.
Amid public misgivings about GM food, an open discussion could have impacted the group, resulting in a drop in share prices, but as New Hope is a publicly listed company, Liu felt a duty to make the admission, though he did not go into details.
The Times Weekly said that due to the cheap price of GM raw materials, it is likely most of China's animal feed producers are using them.
One industry source said the larger the animal feed enterprises are, the more likely they are to use GM corn as they engage in commodity futures trading involving tens of thousands of tonnes in a single trade and they mainly rely on imports.
A biophysicist who chose to be identified by his surname Guo said the raw material for producing animal feed is mainly GM soybean or corn, which is very common at home and overseas and has been standard for many years.
"Those in the industry know it but they simply don't talk about it openly," Guo said.
The official website of the Ministry of Agriculture shows that China's corn imports reached a 15-year high in 2012 with net corn imports totaling 4.95 million tonnes, 98.2% of which originated in the United States.
Corn exported by the United States is GM corn, unless specifically marked as non-GM food.
China imported 58.38 million tonnes of soybean in 2012, also a new high, and this was sourced mainly from the United States, Brazil and Argentina, all of which produce mainly GM soybean.
"Price is the deciding factor in our drift towards GM feed, which has been common in the farming industry. This means that a majority of Chinese have indirectly consumed GM food by eating meat, egg and dairy products," Guo said.
