According to Bioceres CEO Federico Trucco, the first seeds were aimed at agricultural input retailers in Argentina.
The Argentine company, Bioceres Crop Solutions, has announced its first sales of HB4 transgenic wheat seed, the first time this genetically modified (GM) wheat technology has become commercially available to any interested country.
The company offers four varieties of HB4 wheat in its Argentine portfolio, which are Bermejo, Paraná, Traful, and Iruya HB4.
One solution would be the adoption of weather-tolerant genetically modified wheat varieties. But embracing biotechnology, particularly when it comes to a food grain like wheat, has never been simple. Despite the preponderance of scientific evidence showing that GM wheat, as well as other grains, are safe to consume, a significant and vocal minority of consumers are adamant in their disdain for all things genetically modified.
Thus, flour millers and other downstream wheat-based food processors, many of whom are privately intrigued by the possibility of GM wheat commercialization, take a cautious public stance to not upset customers or potential customers. For example, World Grain reached out to a number of people in the global flour milling community for comment on this issue, but most declined.
In the eye of this stormy situation is Argentinean biotech company Bioceres Crop Solutions, the maker of HB4 wheat, a genetically modified, drought-resistant variety that during the past two years has gained acceptance and regulatory approval in several South American countries and also has cleared preliminary regulatory hurdles in Australia and the United States.
According to Trucco, transgenic wheat is gaining more acceptance as it receives more approvals from governments and industry groups. In Brazil, the HB4 transgenic wheat was approved over a year ago by the National Technical Biosafety Commission (CTNBio). The application was submitted by the Brazilian company, Tropical Melhoramento e Genética (TMG), which has a partnership with Bioceres.
