Developments regarding GM food in Dutch supermarkets

Due to the war in the Ukraine, food prices are rising sharply. In addition to cereals (winter wheat, spring barley and maize), Ukraine also grows large quantities of sunflowers, sugar beets and rapeseed. Ukraine is a major player in the world market of grains and oils, and is the 4th largest exporter of agricultural products to the EU. Russia also seems to be disappearing as an exporter of grains. This leads to higher prices for agricultural products on the world market. The FAO food price index has never been so high. The high world market prices for grains and oils are expected to cause major problems, particularly in developing countries. However, prices will also rise in the Netherlands. This raises the question of whether higher food prices lead to more genetically modified (GM) products in the supermarkets, or whether, for example, expected consumer resistance counteracts this.

The project will investigate whether the number of GMO-labelled products on store shelves will increase in the coming year, how the price development of agricultural products on the world market is progressing, and whether there is a correlation with the number of GMO-labelled products. If it turns out that the prices of agricultural products continue to rise or remain very high and a premium difference between GMO and non-GMO agricultural products remains, the underlying considerations of food producers and retail organizations as to whether or not to offer GMO-labelled products to consumers, are investigated.