31 July 2014
Wednesday 30 July 2014 (Canberra) – The Biotradestatus website, an online database that provides unique, comprehensive data on biotech traits and approvals worldwide, has been relaunched globally today.
“The plant science industry’s international federation, CropLife International, has shown great initiative in providing public access to this global resource,” said Matthew Cossey, Chief Executive Officer of CropLife Australia. “It is an excellent tool and provides valuable information on the exciting innovations that agricultural biotechnology is delivering.”
Biotradestatus (www.biotradestatus.com) is the first comprehensive and searchable online database to provide both the approval and commercial status for CropLife International member companies’ plant biotech traits worldwide so database users can easily determine which products are in the global marketplace.
The data on this site can be directly accessed via the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Biosafety Clearing-house (BCH). The coordination between Biotradestatus and the BCH will provide signatories to the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol with significantly improved access to plant biotech trait commercial status information.
Mr Howard Minigh, President and CEO of CropLife International said “Biotradestatus is the only centralised and accessible online database with this in-depth plant biotech trait regulatory and commercial status information, which is essential for maintaining the smooth, uninterrupted global trade of agricultural commodities.”
“Its data enables the entire agricultural value chain – from farmers to grain handlers to regulators – to be fully aware of both the approval and commercial status of a biotech trait produced by CropLife International members in any country,” said Mr Minigh.
Biotradestatus was developed by the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s (BIO) Food and Agriculture Section in 2002. The online database will now be managed by CropLife International, the global federation representing the plant science industry, of which CropLife Australia is a member. Visitors can search the biotradestatus website for cultivation, food and feed use, and importation approval data by crop, trait developer, country, and individual event name.
“CropLife International is looking forward to maintaining and increasing the use of biotradestatus, especially as new plant biotech innovations are introduced to the market and the international trade of biotech grains continues to rise. The agricultural food value chain appreciates BIO’s initiation of this valuable resource, and CropLife International looks forward to working with the CBD Secretariat to continue to promote the value of the database,” said Mr Minigh.
Mr Cossey encouraged anyone interested in improving the sustainability and productivity of agriculture to go online and see the vast array of Genetically Modified crops being grown around the world. “The information available from Biotradestatus highlights the importance of Australia retaining its agricultural competiveness by allowing farmers to access the safe and proven innovative technologies that are at the forefront of modern agriculture,” he concluded.