Commercial GM Crops in the EU in 2008 GM maize: 108,000 hectares under cultivation

The acreage of GM crops in the European Union in 2008 fell slightly in comparison to last year.

The reason: in France, the cultivation of genetically modified Bt maize was banned in 2008. In the year prior, Bt maize was cultivated on 21,000 hectares. That area is almost compensated in the EU statistics by strong gains mainly in the Czech Republic, Romania and Poland.
 

Souce: Industry association EuropaBio. With the exception of Poland,  the areas mentioned were confirmed by the responsible national authorities.

* Source: public register of commercially-grown or trial-released genetically modified organisms of the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL)

** Cultivation of GM soybeans

In the EU currently only Bt maize MON 810 is under cultivation. Although another GM maize variety (Event T25) still has GM regulatory approval for cultivation, there are no cultivars available on the market.

However, there are numerous cultivars of GM maize MON 810 approved in several EU countries. The seeds are commercially available and sold by the agricultural trade. At the beginning of 2009, 99 cultivars were registered in the common catalogue of cultivars in the EU, but these cultivars are not adapted for any location or growing region.

See also on GMO-Compass:

• GM-Maize in the EU in 2007: 110,000 Hectares under Cultivation