Argentinean biotechnology company Bioceres SA hopes that the stress-tolerant genetically modified soybean seeds it develops with the HB4 gene will be approved in the United States within the next month and by the end of 2020 in China.

Argentina and Brazil have already approved a genetically modified so-called HB4 seed variety.

Argentina, Brazil and the United States are the world's largest producers of soybeans, while China is its largest importer, making this approval the key to expanding Bioceres's product.

Speaking on Thursday, June 13, with an interview with Reuters, Bioceres CEO Frederico Trukko said that according to optimistic forecasts, HB4 approval in China could happen at the end of this year.

When China approves the seed variety, “we will sow 15 to 25 percent of the total soybean area in Argentina within three to five years,” said Bioceres SA, director general of the Argentinean biotechnology company.

According to the Rosario grain exchange, in the current marketing year 2018-2019, 17.3 million hectares of land were sown under soybean in Argentina, and it is expected that the country's crop production will reach 56.5 million tons.