Argentina Becomes First Nation to Allow GM Wheat Planting

Argentina, one of the world's largest wheat exporters, became the first country in the world to approve the national commercialization of the HB4 GMO wheat variety developed by Bioceres. However, the company stated that the HB4 seed, which is more drought-tolerant and resistant to the herbicide glufosinate-ammonium, will not be available on the market for some time.

"We plan to continue producing under the current preserved identity scheme." "We will not commercialize the seeds for the time being," a company source told Reuters, without providing further details.

Argentina, where farmers are about to begin sowing wheat for the 2022/23 season, was the first country to approve GMO wheat on an experimental basis in 2020, followed in 2021 by Brazil, which is Argentina's largest buyer and approved GMO wheat flour.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday, INDEAR, a subsidiary of the Bioceres Group, is now authorized to commercialize the seed as well as the products and by-products derived from the so-called IND-412-7 wheat.

The release of GMO wheat in Argentina is causing concern among grain exporters, who are concerned that many customers will stop importing Argentine grain because the vast majority of countries around the world have not yet authorized GMO wheat or its derivatives.

"This regulation poses a significant commercial risk," Argentina's oilseeds and grains exporters chamber said on Twitter, adding that "the economic consequences of any future market losses will fall on the ministry and the developing company."

According to the Rosario Grains Exchange, Argentina's upcoming wheat harvest in 2022/23 is expected to yield 19 million tonnes.

Wheat is Argentina's largest crop in terms of harvested land area, and it is the main crop in the cattle-raising southern Pampas of the provinces of Buenos Aires and La Pampa. In the north, wheat and corn (maize) predominate. Corn and wheat planting began concurrently in the northern Pampas.