"The number of countries growing transgenic crops has increased from one in1992, to six in 1996, to nine in 1998 and to 12 in 1999," Clive James,director of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-BiotechApplications (ISAAA), said in a study.

The study said GM crops now have higher adoption rates because they offermore convenient and flexible crop management, higher productivity and asafer environment through decreased use of conventional pesticides.

A copy of the study was given to participants at a forum on global foodsecurity in Manila on Friday. ISAAA is a non-profit organisation funded bypublic and private groups whose aim is to facilitate the transfer ofbiotechnology in agriculture from industrialised to developing countries.James said total area planted to GM crops worldwide ballooned to 39.9million hectares last year from 1.7 million in 1996. As a result, globalsales from transgenic crops rose to an estimated $2.1 billion to $2.3billion last year from $235 million in 1996.

US, Canada, Argentina lead GM crop plantings
The United States accounted for 72 per cent of global area planted togenetically altered crops last year with 28.7 million hectares, followed byArgentina with 6.7 million hectares and Canada with four million hectares.Some 300,000 hectares of land in China were also planted with such crops and100,000 hectares each in Australia and South Africa. GM crops were alsogrown in Mexico, Spain, France, Portugal, Romania and Ukraine.

Genetically altered soybean and corn accounted for 54 per cent and 28 percent respectively, of total planted areas worldwide, James said.

Other GM crops grown last year included cotton, canola/rapeseed, potato,squash and papaya. James said he expected areas planted with GM crops toexpand modestly in Latin America, with Brazil possibly making commercialplantings for the first time "subject to regulatory approval and marketdemand."But he predicted strong growth elsewhere.

"China is expected to expand its transgenic crop are aggressively, withgrowth and diversification continuing in South Africa, Australia and theEastern European countries that have already commercialised transgenics," he said. India also has genetically modified crops that are ready forcommercial planting, James said. He did not say when he expected India tostart planting GM crops.

"The major issues that will modulate adoption in the year 2000 will bepublic acceptance - which drives market demand - and regulation," he said."These two issues and labelling of foods derived from genetically modifiedplants will continue to be dominant factors that will impact on commercialplanting of transgenic crops and consumption of genetically derived foods incountries of the European Union."

Use of GM foods is widely accepted in the United States, but has encounteredstrong resistance in parts of Europe.