BIOENGINEERED FOOD MARKET ANALYSIS

Ethical concerns surrounding genetic modification is indeed restraining the growth of bioengineered food market. While genetic engineering aims to improve crop yields, nutrition and resilience, there are legitimate worries about its long-term impact on environment and human health. The uncertainty around newly introduced transgenic traits and living organisms has raised sustainability and precautionary issues.

Another concern is the increased use of herbicides due to proliferation of herbicide-tolerant crops. As per a report published by Environmental Protection Agency in 2022, use of glyphosate, the primary ingredient in Roundup herbicide, increased more than 250 million pounds between 1996 and 2016 to match the expansion of GMO crops engineered to tolerate it. Overreliance on certain herbicides for weed management is diminishing the food system's resilience to weeds and impacting farmland biodiversity. It is also linked to health issues like cancer according to some research findings.

Market Opportunity - Emerging markets in developing nations

The global bioengineered food market has a major growth opportunity in the emerging markets of developing nations. While developed regions like North America and Europe currently dominate the bioengineered food landscape, several developing and under-penetrated markets still offer vast untapped potential. Countries like China, India, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa etc. are expected to drive future market growth. These developing economies are experiencing robust economic development, rising disposable incomes, and westernization of diets which is increasing the demand for food products. As per the UNICEF data from 2020, around 190 million children under 5 years of age suffer from vitamin A deficiency globally. Cultivation of golden rice especially in parts of Africa and Asia where deficiencies are widespread can potentially help address this.