Thailand
Known as one of the world's largest net food exporters, Thailand is determined to maintain its position in world food production by continuing to invest in agriculture. As early as the 1980s, the government recognized the important role of biotechnology in increasing the competitive advantage of farmers and the country's agro-industry (Damrongchai, 2002). In 1983, the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) was established to promote research and development in this strategic technology. Since then, Thailand has been very active in seeking and producing better varieties of plants using gene technology and other biotechnology applications.
Current research is focused on developing virus-resistant papaya, tomato, and chili, insect-resistant cotton, and salt- and drought-tolerant rice. Although none of these has reached market-scale production, virus-resistant papaya is considered the most promising GM product and the first to be introduced to farmers in the country. All transgenic papayas are being tested under greenhouse conditions and field tests in accordance with the Biosafety Guidelines and are also undergoing food safety tests following GM Food Safety Guidelines (Damrongchai, 2002).
In the meantime, GM crop seeds from foreign multinationals have already been introduced into Thailand. The first crop that was permitted for field trials and introduced in 1994 was Calgene's delayed-ripening Flavr Savr tomato. This was followed by Monsanto's Bt cotton and Novartis' Bt corn. The former had undergone the most extensive field trials in the country and have since been completed. However, due to strong opposition by several local NGOs, the product has been suspended at the political level for several years now.