New bio-crop rules sideline German chems - VCI

14 February 2008 17:02  [Source: ICIS news]

TORONTO (ICIS news)--Germany’s chemicals industry will no longer be able to compete with the US, China and India in the important field of biotech crops following new rules to be finalised by the country's upper legislative house this week, chemical industry association Verband der Chemischen Industrie (VCI) said on Thursday.

 

Among the changes of Germany’s “Gentechnikgesetz” – which regulates genetically modified (GM) crops – were rules that provided for minimum distances between neighbouring GM maize (corn) and conventional crop plantings, VCI said.

 

The rules on minimum distances were without scientific basis and would shut out many German farmers and organisations from exploiting biotech technologies, said Bernhard Garthoff, president of VCI’s biotechnology industry group.

 

Another flaw was that the rules would retain current provisions for a public register of biotech crop fields, he said.

 

In light of the increasing incidence of the destruction of fields – even government research fields – by activists, the lawmakers’ decision to retain the register in its current form was not comprehensible, Garthoff said.

 

Without a realistic opportunity for large-scale bio-crop cultivation, research of biotech crop technologies would play only a marginal role in Germany, he said. 

 

In light of the sharp growth of biotech crops plantings worldwide - up over 10% to 114m hectares in 2007 - it was a severe political mistake of Germany to lose out in this important technology field, he said.

 

Garthoff urged Germany's federal state governments to take actions to improve the development of biotechnology in Germany.

 

Lawmakers should review provisions for minimum distances after two years, he added.

 

Germany’s upper house, the Bundesrat, is due to decide on the new rules on Friday.

 

The Bundesrat – which represent the German states - can raise objections, but these can ultimately be overruled by the Bundestag, Germany’s federal parliament.

By: Stefan Baumgarten
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