Cibus and Rotam to produce non-transgenic rapeseed for China

Non-transgenic breeding and precision gene editing company Cibus recently agreed to work with Rotam to develop  sulfonylurea (SU) herbicide-tolerant rapeseed in China in order to meet the country's growing demand for high-quality, non-transgenic rapeseed oil.

Rotam, an international company in the crop protection industry, will pick the rapeseed breeding partners and establish the relevant business model to commercialize the seeds and herbicides in China.

China, which currently imports one-third of its rapeseed needs, hopes that the partnership between Cibus and Rotam will provide a way to strengthen the Chinese rapeseed industry by lowering the cost of production and increasing yield.

 “Chinese consumers view non-transgenic rapeseed oil as a healthier alternative to soybean and palm oil, and as more Chinese move into the middle class in the upcoming decade, rapeseed oil demand is set to outpace supply,” Jean-Michel Duhamel, Rotam’s chief commercial officer, said. “We believe that bringing this non-transgenic technology to multiple rapeseed varieties will eliminate crop rotation issues for the crop and help meet China’s growing demand for rapeseed oil.”

Cibus President and CEO Peter Beetham said the agreement will ultimately help Chinese farmers.

“This new product reduces the amount of chemicals needed to achieve weed control, cutting costs, increasing crop yield and providing benefits to the environment,” Beetham said. “Rotam is the foremost crop protection company in China, so it was a natural step to work with Rotam on bringing a new non-transgenic rapeseed solution to a country with a growing need for rapeseed oil. In partnership with Rotam, Cibus looks forward to bringing a new class of non-transgenic rapeseed breeding technologies to China.”

Global rapeseed production has grown from the sixth largest oil crop to the second largest crop over the last 40 years. Rapeseed oil made up 13 to 16 percent of the world vegetable oil production between 1999 and 2008.