China: consequences of the Syngenta acquisition

With the aquisition of Swiss pesticides and GMO-seeds company Syngenta China puts genetically modified food on menu. But a majority of Chinese consumers don´t want that to happen.

While Syngenta CEO John Ramsay described the offer of the Chinese giant ChemChina (China National Chemical Corp) as "very appropriate and attractive". He said that he noticed no major barriers for the deal. Recently he stated that the negotiations are going well. Former announcements of merger with Monsanto had failed. The $43 billion deal by state-owned ChemChina would be China’s largest overseas acquisition to date.

But consumer resistance could present a major obstacle for President Xi Jinping, who wants China to be “bold” in embracing biotechnology and transforming domestic farming. The government see engineered crops – mainly wheat, rice and corn – as a way to increase productivity and possibly reduce use of fertilizers and pesticides, according to an article in yahoo news.

GMOs currently banned in China

Will change the Syngenta takeover change the landscape in China for GMOs. Currently, the government effectively bans the sale of all such foods, with the exception of cooking oils, papaya and imported animal feed, says Author Stuart Leavenworth in Yahoo news. But at the same time, it is pouring money into research into transgenic seeds and other biotechnology.

Consumers are focused on food safety and while China’s leaders don’t always consider public opinion in making their decisions, food and family health are highly sensitive issues after many food scandals. Over the years, Chinese consumers have been bombarded from Greenpeace to Maoist Nationalists have stoked fears about so-called “frankenfoods".

Chinese officials have contributed to public worries by raising questions of national food security. In 2013, Peng Guangqian, a deputy secretary-general of China’s National Security Policy Committee, wrote a commentary comparing GM food to a “new kind of opium” being forced upon China by the West. Mr. Peng’s commentary, published in Global Times, an arm of the People’s Daily, accused US firms like Monsanto and Dupont of dumping GM products in China.

More recently, however, Chinese officials and state newspapers have taken a noticeably softer line on GMOs and international food companies. Over the last year, state media has touted US studies concluding the GM food is safe, while arguing that China needs new strains of crops that can withstand pests and droughts.

Increasing dependencies of farmers

Greenpeace Switzerland Ecological Farming Campaigner Philippe Schenkel commented the announcement of ChemChina to takeover the pesticide and seed company Syngenta. He said:
“The proposed takeover of Syngenta by ChemChina – a state owned Fortune 500 company – is another indication that Big Agribusiness is in turmoil. The continuing concentration of corporate power in the agricultural sector will lead to increased dependencies of farmers on just a handful of global players. The current system of industrial agriculture, promoted by big corporations puts profit over people and undermines the farmers’ freedom to choose what they grow and how.”aq