Chile: Agricultural Biotechnology Annual
Agricultural biotechnology policy has not been a priority of Chile’s current administration. FAS/Santiago expects Chile’s agricultural biotechnology policies to remain unchanged. While Chile lacks a biotechnology framework, restricts the planting and commercialization of genetically engineered (GE) crops, it continues to allow U.S. imports all GE crops and products (i.e. corn, feed grains, processed products for the retail sector). Chile is the fifth largest producer of seeds (GE and non-GE seeds) in the world and the United States is the largest destination for its GE produced seeds. It does not require GE products to be labeled. FAS/Santiago estimates that nearly $285 million of U.S. agricultural exports to Chile may have some kind of GE content. If Chile could produce GE products commercially, it could be a viable producer of transgenic sugar beets, corn, and alfalfa.
