Low Levels of Genetically Modified Crops in International Food and Feed Trade: FAO International Survey and Economic Analysis

Year of publication2014

AuthorFAO

PublisherFAO

AbstractThe low level presence (LLP) and adventitious presence (AP) of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) in internationally traded food crops have been a major issue of discussion recently. Asynchronous Approvals (AA) and zero tolerance policy have been reported to have trade diversion effects by some of the exporters. Therefore, FAO conducted a survey to evaluate the issue and examine the impact of LLP on trade flow. The survey was sent to national government organizations through FAO Representation s (FAORs), Codex contact points, and individual contacts in early 2013. Almost half of the respondents (47 percent) indicated that they produce GM crops for research or commercial use. 78 percent of respondents indicated that they have a GMO regulation; however, 22 percent either don’t have or are planning to have regulations in the future. High level of regional guidelines is a critical issue in food safety regulations worldwide. 37 percent of the respondents indicated that they have a LLP thre shold at least for one group of product (feed). The remaining 63 percent do not have any threshold limit for LLP related imports. Only 33 percent of the respondents indicated that they have a technical capacity to detect GMOs in imports.

 

ThemeAgricultural Commodities and Development

Product typeBook (stand-alone)

SeriesFAO Commodity and Trade Policy Research Working Paper

Areas of workEmerging Trends, Challenges and Opportunities