South Africa to ease some GM crop rules to avert food crisis

Country plans to ramp up maize imports from the US and Mexico amid the worst drought in a century

South Africa will relax some of its tough rules on genetically modified crops so it can ramp up maize imports from the United States and Mexico to avert a potential food crisis amid a severe drought, officials said.

Almost 90% of maize in South Africa is genetically modified and the country bans commodities with strains not approved by the government and does not allow imports to be stored, stipulating they must be transported immediately from ports to mills.