Long-awaited regulations governing use of biotech products in Mexico are expected later this month, and the chances of prompt implementation improved greatly when the populist National Federation of Farmers (CNC) voiced support for controlled field trials. Former Mexican president Vicente Fox wavered on giving the green light to field trials near the end of his term, but Agriculture Minister Alberto Cardenas is making it very clear that President Felipe Calderon will not back down. If field trials get underway later this year, biotech corn seeds could be sold commercially in Mexico as of 2009. In anticipation of the regulatory package, the National Sanitation Service has approved 39 applications to plant bioengineered crops, and biotech companies are champing at the bit to get started.