BEIJING, Nov. 29 (Reuters) – China, the world's largest rice producer and consumer, has approved a locally developed strain of genetically modified rice, paving the way for large-scale production in 2 to 3 years, Chinese scientists said.

The Ministry of Agriculture's Biosafety Committee has issued biosafety certificates to Bt rice, a pest-resistant genetically modified strain, two committee members told Reuters.

Along with GM phytase corn approval announced last week, this is China's first two approvals for grains, although it already permits GM papaya, cotton and tomatoes.

But the strains still need to undergo registration and production trials before commercial production can begin in restricted areas, which may take 2-3 years, the scientists said.

The scientists declined to be identified as the Chinese government has not officially published the information.

Officials at the Agricultural Ministry's biosafety office declined to comment.
China is the world's top producer of rice, growing 59.5 million tons in the 12 months to October, but it exports only around 50,000 tons a month as most is consumed domestically.

Exports of GM rice would be likely to face tough scrutiny abroad.

The European Union's executive body, the European Commission, said in July that China needed to tighten export controls on rice products, such as baby food, because shipments might contain traces of the Bt-63 strain, which is not authorized in the EU.