SEOUL: South Korea may import more than twice as much genetically modified corn for food use as expected this year as starch firms quietly stepped up buying after their first batch in May, a government source said on Tuesday.

South Korea, the world's third-largest corn buyer, imported 330,000 tonnes of GMO corn for food use for the first time in May and June, and this year's total may rise to 1.2 million tonnes, or about 60 per cent of the total demand from the food sector, a Korea Food and Drug Administration source told agencies.

That is far above the 500,000 tonne volume floated several months ago by the major buyers, who had indicated they would take a measured approach to shifting to cheaper GMO crops rather than risk a massive consumer backlash in one of only two Asian nations -- along with Japan -- that had stuck to non-GMO foods.

"There is one cargo carrying around 50,000 tonnes of GMO corns due to arrive early this month and GMO corn imports for food use (this year) are likely to total 1.2 million tonnes," the source said.

South Korea, which relies on corn imports to meet 99 per cent of demand and soybean imports to meet 90 per cent, broke the GMO food taboo earlier this year, signing a deal to import the engineered corn for manufacturing starch and sweeteners.

In February the four South Korean starch makers that supply nearly 90 per cent of the country's corn starch and sugar -- Daesang Corp, Doosan Corn Products Korea, Samyang Genex and Shindongbang CP -- indicated that they many have to buy more as prices soar, but have been coy on details.

Global corn prices more than doubled over the past 12 months and reached a record high of above $8 a bushel last month, as demand for grain, used for food, feed and fuel, increased on flooding in the US Midwest last month, raising fears of reduced supply from the world's largest corn exporter.

July corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 1.0 per cent today to $7.17-¼ a bushel after the USDA raised its forecast for 2008 US corn plantings to 87.3 million acres from its March estimate of 86.0 million.

Governments around the world have been struggling with the inflationary impact of higher food and oil prices, with corn joining a long list of staples, from rice and wheat to vegetable oils and crude oil, that have been hitting record highs. Skyrocketing food prices are forcing South Korea, which only grows about 25 per cent of the grain it needs, to switch to GMO crops. The country's consumer price inflation in 2008 is set to hit a 10-year high on soaring energy and commodities prices.

Avoiding GMO corn has also become increasingly difficult as major producers switch to varieties that offer benefits such as higher yields or drought resistance. More than 10 years since GMO crops were first planted in 1996, global production of crops has jumped 60-fold to cover 280 million acres in 23 countries, and people in 53 countries now eat GM foods, according to industry data.

The world's five major grain producers, including the US, Argentina and Brazil, provide around 95 per cent of the global trade of biotech crops, indicating importing countries face dwindling options in their food policy. The international biotech industry insists its products are safe and no different from conventional foods, an argument that has so far failed to convince many of the EU's 27 governments.