GMW: U.S. grain sales frop - exporters test for illegal biotech corn

[Guest guest]

GMW: U.S. grain sales frop - exporters test for illegal

biotech corn

" GM WATCH " <info

Thu, 16 Jun 2005 12:57:39 +0100

 

 

 

 

 

GM WATCH daily

http://wwww.gmwatch.org

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1.U.S. grain exporters test for illegal biotech corn

2.GM Canola contaminates Japan - 'Return to Sender'

 

EXCERPRT: The exporter said Japanese demand for U.S. corn has dropped

after two consignments were found to contain the unapproved variety in

late May. " We didn't sell them a pound last week. " (item 1)

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1.U.S. grain exporters test for illegal biotech corn

by K.T. Arasu

Reuters, 14 Jun 2005

[url at end]

 

CHICAGO - Some U.S. grain exporters have begun testing their corn

shipments to top market Japan for an unapproved biotech variety that was

detected in two cargoes and has slowed the pace of sales, traders said on

Monday.

 

The tests are being done voluntarily by the companies to ensure

valuable Japanese importers stay on their clients' list, even as industry

officials continue to discuss who should bear the costs eventually, the

traders said.

 

" Yes, testing is being done, " said an exporter who sells corn to Japan,

adding that the tests were being conducted on samples taken from barges

before they head down the river transportation system to export

terminals at the U.S. Gulf.

 

" If the testing is low-priority it's around $180 (per sample), and it

can cost three times as much if it is high-priority, " he said, adding

that the cost could slash profit margins in the highly competitive grain

business.

 

The testing comes as Japan's Agriculture Ministry asked Japanese

importers to request U.S. suppliers for certificates declaring their

shipments were free of the Bt-10 variety, which was grown from 2001

and 2004 in

the United States.

 

The Japanese move came on the heels of Swiss agrochemicals company

Syngenta AG seeking approval from the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration for

its Bt-10 corn, which was genetically modified to protect it from an

insect.

 

Syngenta spokeswoman Sarah Hull declined to comment on whether the

company would help exporters pay for the U.S. tests.

 

The North American Export Grain Association said in a note to its

members, obtained by Reuters, that the approval process could be

completed

in as little as 30 days. NAEGA President Gary Martin could not be

reached for comment.

 

An FDA approval would open the door for Japan to allow for a 1 percent

tolerance level of Bt-10 in U.S. corn shipments. At present, tainted

cargoes have to destroyed or shipped back.

 

An industry source said tests would be conducted on every 25,000-bushel

pile of corn. A barge typically carries about 55,000 bushels of corn in

a trip to the Gulf coast.

 

An exporter said testing for Bt-10 corn was being carried out even

though there was no " formal protocol " on testing between U.S. and

Japanese

authorities.

 

" I know testing is going on. Everybody is trying to cover their

exposure to destinations, " he said of sales to Japan.

 

" I don't know who is going to eat those costs until a protocol is in

place, " he added.

 

Another exporter said shippers were also looking at the possibility of

getting declarations from farmers they buy corn from to attest that

they did not grow Bt-10 corn.

 

" We will get an affidavit from the farmer that he did not knowingly

plant Bt-10 and that to the best of his knowledge his crop is free of

Bt-10 corn. This is one of those things being kicked around, " the

exporter

said.

 

" Right now we are holding our breath. So far, none of our shipments

have tested positive, " he said.

 

The exporter said Japanese demand for U.S. corn has dropped after two

consignments were found to contain the unapproved variety in late May.

" We didn't sell them a pound last week. " A grain trader who does

business in the river barge market said his company was not testing

corn for

Bt-10. " We are not doing any testing for Bt-10 although we test for

other things like aflatoxin. But I think we'll probably add Bt-10 to that

list at some point, " he added.

 

http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=news & doc_id=10546 & start=1 & \

control=214 & page_start=1 & page_nr=101 & pg=1

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2.Canadian GE Canola contaminates Japan - activists urge 'Return to

Sender'

[hear Akiko Frid's presentation]

 

www.greenpeace.ca/e/

 

Greenpeace has released a report detailing how Canadian genetically

engineered canola came to contaminate crops in Japan. As an international

meeting on the regulation of genetically engineered organisms opened in

Montreal, activists urged the Canadian government to take care of the

problem.

 

Read the press release

View photos from Montreal

Download the report (PDF, 300K)

Listen to Greenpeace's submission to the Biosafety Protocol meeting

(MP3, 700K)

http://www.greenpeace.ca/e/campaign/gmo/multimedia/BSP_Montreal_0505.mp3

 

 

 

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