US corn exporters look for new markets as China still blocks GMO imports

2014-01-09

CHINA is not expected to approve a genetically modified strain found in corn and corn-based dried distillers grains with solubles until late spring, forcing some US exporters to seek new markets or hold off on shipments, an agriculture analyst said.

The Chinese authorities in December blocked a shipment of regular corn and a shipment of corn by-products, citing the presence of the strain MIR 162.

Although China isn't expected to approve the strain, developed by Swiss chemical company Syngenta, until late spring, regulators could speed up the process, said senior agriculture market consultant at Daniels Ag Services, Drew Wilkins.

Some shippers are putting orders on hold while others are continuing to send shipments to the US west coast for export to China, said vice president of grain operations Bo DeLong at The DeLong Co, a transloading exporter.

The motive of Chinese authorities is hazy. The blocking of the GMO crop imports could truly reflect health concerns or be an attempt to lower import prices, said the contributing editor to Grain Analyst, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce.

China's Ministry of Agriculture is supportive of GMO crops, but populist accusations that such US crops are being used to harm the country's populace has fuelled a backlash, according to Wall Street Journal correspondent in Shanghai, Adam Minter.

In a separate column, Mr Minter noted "the real cause of the anti-GMO zeal expressed by China's quarantine officials" might be an attempt by Beijing to appease the populace's growing food safety concerns "without actually doing much about it."

A group of US farm interests in November voiced concerns about ongoing delays, lack of transparency and arbitrary decisions in China's process of approving new biotechnology traits.

The current Chinese approval system is preventing US farmers from adopting the new technologies needed to increase yields, fight pests and weeds, enhance quality, and improve environmental performance, the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association and US Canola Association said.

US exports of grains and feeds to China rose 52 per cent year on year in value in the first 10 months of 2013, rising to US$3.5 billion from $2.3 billion in the same period of 2012. Exports of corn fell sharply, however, to $660 million, from $1.1 billion in January to October 2012.

Source from : www.schednet.com

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