Philippines: Agricultural Biotechnology Annual
The Philippines continues to be a regional biotechnology leader. Bt eggplant remains poised as the first locally-developed, genetically-engineered (GE) crop to be commercialized while field trials of Golden Rice (GR) are expected in the near-term future, the exact timeline of which is unknown. Although there have been delays in the processing of biosafety applications under the regulatory process known as Joint Departmental Circular (JDC) there have been no reported trade disruptions. Improvements in the implementation of the JDC regulations are expected starting late 2017 with the issuance of harmonized inter-agency procedures.
