Genetically modified food and international trade : The case of India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines

• Main Authors: G. Gruere, A. Bouet, S. Mevel
• Format: Publication
• Language: English
• Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2007
• Subjects: Agriculture; Agriculture and food; Agriculture and food.Biotechnology and GMOs; Agriculture and food.Market oriented production and trade; Food security; Food security.Food policy; Genetically Modified crops; GM food; Trade Policy; Bangladesh; Philippines; India; Indonesia

This paper studies the potential effects of introducing genetically modified (GM) food crops in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines in the presence of trade-related regulations of GM food in major importers. It focuses on GM field crops (rice, wheat, maize, soybeans, and cotton) resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses, such as drought-resistant rice. The paper argues that GM food crops have the potential to raise agricultural productivity in Asian countries, but they are also associated with the risk of market access losses in sensitive importing countries. It suggests that many Asian countries that have invested in research and regulations on GM food crops are confronted with three possible alternatives: allow the production of GM food crops with the risk of losing potential exports reject the commercialisation of any GM food crop produce both GM and non-GM crops separately at a marketing cost The paper provides an integrated economic assessment of these three alternatives focusing on two main objectives: assessing the impacts of large importers’ regulations (such as the EU and Japan) on the potential benefits of adopting particular GM crops in the four countries evaluating the opportunity cost of GM/non-GM segregation for such crops under the external constraints defined Based on the results of a study, the paper finds: the gains associated with the adoption of GM food crops largely exceed any type of potential trade losses these countries may incur adopting GM crops also allows net importing countries to greatly reduce their imports GM rice is bound to be the most advantageous crop for the four countries segregation of non-GM crops can help reduce any potential trade loss for GM adopters, such as India, that want to keep export opportunities in sensitive countries the opportunity cost of segregation is much larger for sensitive importing countries than for countries adopting new GM crops, which suggests that sensitive importers will have the incentive to invest in separate non-GM marketing channels if exporting countries like India decide to adopt GM food crops