International environmental group Greenpeace yesterday expressed alarm over the threatened loss of papaya export markets if genetically engineered (GE) papaya is commercialized in the country.

Daniel Ocampo, Genetic Engineering campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said that GE papaya, which was only commercialized in Hawaii among other places in 1998, has been proven failure and has affected the papaya industry on the island.

Ocampo said the report titled "The Failure of GE Papaya in Hawaii" illustrates that the Hawaiian experience with GE papaya had been a total disaster.

According to Greenpeace, Philippines ranks as the world's seventh top exporter of papaya, and 14th in terms of production.

The country produced 124,078 metric tons of papaya from 1999, to an average of 130,755 metric tons in 2003.

The country has since been the primary papaya exporter to Japan, which was a primary market for Hawaii before the GE contamination.

The GE papaya's two strains - delayed ripening and ringspot virus resistant papaya - are currently undergoing a greenhouse testing at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) - Institute of Plant Breeding. The testing was approved by the National Committee on Biosafety.