MUCH of Europe may still be resisting the introduction of genetically modified crops, but elsewhere in the world an area larger than the UK is planted with modified maize, cotton and soybeans, according to the latest industry figures.
Last year saw the biggest rise in new planting since 1998 as the troubled agribiotech sector bounced back from environmental and health concerns with a 20 per cent increase in acreage. More than 90 per cent of the 81 million hectares now planted with GM crops are still in the Americas, with the US and Argentina leading the pack. China and India are growing GM cotton, while South Africa and Spain 鈥� the only significant European Union grower 鈥� are growing GM maize.
鈥淟ast year the area planted with modified crops grew fastest in developing nations鈥�
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Though the area under GM crops has doubled since 2000, it is still less than 2 per cent of the world鈥檚 fields. According to Clive James of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, who compiled the data, last year was the first in which the area under GM crops grew faster in developing countries than in the rich world.
