The report, Market Acceptance of GM Canola, was released today by Phillip Glyde, Executive Director of ABARE.

The report examines acceptance of GM canola in world markets. Concerns about acceptance led to moratoriums being imposed by State governments on the commercial production of GM canola in Australia's key canola producing states.

"The report found that, in the traditional import markets for canola — Japan, Mexico, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh — GM canola is generally accepted as readily as conventional canola and is priced at very similar levels," Mr Glyde said.

"Despite perceptions of resistance to GM grains in world markets, countries that are producing GM varieties of soybeans, corn, cotton and canola dominate the world export trade in these grains", Mr Glyde added.

"For example, virtually all Canada"s export canola is considered to be genetically modified, but this has not stopped its exports reaching record levels in 2006, more than doubling since GM canola was introduced in Canada in the mid 1990s,"  Glyde said.

Canada accounted for more than 70 per cent of world canola seed trade in the three years to 2006.

Mr Glyde also pointed to the already wide use of products from GM crops in the domestic Australian market, particularly with domestically produced GM cottonseed and imported GM soybean products, and suggested that GM canola will generally be accepted by food manufacturers and consumers in Australia's domestic market.