Browse Data and Analysis

On December 29, 2023, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) submitted two major reports related to climate change to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): the Fourth National Communication on Climate Change (NC4) and the Third Biennial Update Report on Climate Change (BUR3).

From March 4-6, 2024, 26 representatives from all ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Timor-Leste participated in a USDA-funded agricultural biotechnology workshop - along with dozens of private sector stakeholders at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia.

On March 19, 2024, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) National Crop Variety Registration Committee (CNCVRC) published a second variety registration list for genetically modified (GM) corn and soybeans.

Ghana continues to demonstrate its conviction that proven science-based advanced technologies remain viable options in the global efforts to achieve food security in the face of various production constraints like climate change.

On February 21, 2024, The Government of Rwanda (GoR) published a new biosafety law providing requirements for the transit and utilization of living modified organisms (LMOs) produced through modern biotechnology techniques. This law enters effect immediately.

The COVID 19 pandemic in Malaysia saw most government agencies operating at minimum staffing with most working from home throughout 2020 and 2021. This has severely impacted the number of GE events approved by the National Biosafety Board (NBB).

Sri Lanka does not produce genetically engineered (GE) crops or animals. Some GE research, however, occurs at the laboratory level, but that research does not reach commercialization.

India remains undecided on genetically engineered (GE) crops, despite its regulatory authorities clearing on the environmental release of GE eggplant and mustard events. Bt cotton (Bacillus thuringiensis) is the only biotech crop approved for commercial cultivation.

On November 17, 2021, the European Commission published a proposal for legislation aimed at preventing products causing deforestation or forest degradation from entering the EU market.

Hungary is one of the strongest opponents of agricultural biotechnology in the European Union. Maintaining the country’s GE-free status is still a government priority.

Korea is in the process of revising its existing Living Modified Organism (LMO) Act to cover products of innovative biotechnologies, including genome edited products.

There are no significant changes to the agricultural biotechnology situation in the Czech Republic in 2021. The country generally maintains a scientific approach towards biotechnology.