By Rudy Fernandez (The Philippine Star) Updated March 08, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The global market value of biotechnology or genetically modified (GM) crops hit the $10 billion mark in 2009, up from $9 billion in 2008.

Last year’s $10.5 billion represented 20 percent of the $52.2 billion global crop protection market in 2009 and 30 percent of the about $34 billion commercial seed market.

The value of the biotech crop market for 2010 is projected at more than $11 billion.

The accumulated global value for the 12-year period since biotech crops were first commercialized in 1996 is estimated at $62.3 billion, reported the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).

New York-based ISAAA is a not-for-profit organization with an international network of centers designed to contribute to the alleviation of hunger and poverty by sharing knowledge and crop biotechnology applications. The network includes the Southeast Asian Center based in Los Baños, Laguna.Dr. Clive James, ISAAA founder and current board chairman, reported the significant strides of biotechnology or GM crops at a recent seminar billed “Global Overview of Biotech/GM Crops 2009; Current Status, Impact, and Future Prospect” hold at the Dusit Thani, Manila Hotel in Makati City.

Attended by scientists, academics, the biotechnology sector, and members of the print and broadcast media, the seminar was dedicated to the late Dr. Norman Borlaug, 1970 Nobel Peace Laureate who was acclaimed as the “Father of the Green Revolution.” Borlaug, a regular visitor to the Philippines over the past three decades and a friend of the late Philippine STAR founding publisher Max V. Soliven, died last September at age 95.

Others who spoke at the seminar were National Scientist Dr. Gelia T. Castrillo; Dr. Emil Q. Javier, former Science Minister and University of the Philippines System president and now president of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST); and Dr. Randy Hautea, ISAAA global coordinator.

Dr. James reported that the $10.5 billion biotechnology crop market in 2009 comprised $5.2 billion for biotech maize equivalent to 50 percent of the global biotech crop market; $3.9 billion for biotech soybean (37.2 percent); $1.1 billion for biotech cotton; and $300,000 for biotech canola.

A big chunk ($8.2 billion or 78 percent) of the 2009 $10.5 billion biotech crop market was dominated by industrial countries while $2.3 billion was accounted by developing countries.

“The market value of the global biotech crop market is based on the sale price of biotech seed plus any technology fees that apply,” stated the ISAAA report.

The ISAAA estimates do not include the market for biotech crops, which have greater market value and are difficult to assess directly. However, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service reports that 80 to 90 percent of all corn, soy and cotton grown in the US is biotech transgenic.

As in the previous years, the US topped the 25 countries that planted biotech crops in 2009.

Last year, the US devoted 64 million hectares (acre than twice the Philippine land area of 30 million ha) to biotech maize, soybean, cotton, wheat, sugarcane, sugarbeat, alfalfa, canola, papaya and squash.

Brazil, for the first time, overtook Argentina in area planted to GM crops – 21.4 million ha as against Argentina’s 21.3 million ha.

The other top 10 biotech crop producers in 2009 were India, 8.4 million ha; Canada, 8.2 million ha; China, 3.7 ha; Paraguay, 2.2 million ha; South Africa, 2.1 million ha, Uruguay, 800,000 ha; and Bolivia, 800,000.

The Philippines ranked 11th, with 490,000 ha planted to Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) corn; followed by Australia, which devoted 230,000 ha to biotech cotton and biotech canola.