GMO increases in Brazil

Farmings are going to expand by 20.9% in 2011/12 harvest, with an area of 31.8 million hectares.

GMO crops will expand by 20.9% in the current crop in Brazil (2011-2012), an extension of up to 31.8 million hectares of plantations planted with genetically modified seeds.

The analysis, prepared by the firm Celera notes that 85.3% of the country's soybean plantings this year will have been cultivated with transgenic seed varieties. Soybeans, which will increase the use of transgenic seeds by 16.7% this year, is the main crop in Brazil and the largest agricultural product exports from the country, which is in China's largest customer.

Since the adoption in 2005 of a law to regulate the sector, the area planted with GMO soya from five million hectares (24% of total planted in that year) to 21.4 million hectares (85.3% of total) in the current campaign, according to data from Celera.

In the case of cotton, transgenic seeds will reach 32.3% of the cultivated area at the end of this season, an increase of 26.1% over the last harvest. The corn will increase the use of transgenics in 32% and the introduction of such seeds will expand to 67.3% of the plantations.

According to latest official estimates, Brazil will gather in the harvest of 2012 157.5 million tonnes of cereals, pulses and oilseeds, and the planted area will rise to 49.5 million hectares.

The estimated production for 2012 is slightly lower than this year as the government expects a decline in soybean productivity due to less favorable climatic factors compared to 2011, when there has been a bumper crop of 157, 9 million tons.

Source: ambito.com