February 14, 2006

US wheat industry to revive ailing demand with GM wheat
 

US wheat groups must actively support genetically modified wheat if the industry is to reverse a decline in wheat acreage and profitability, industry leaders at a grain industry conference in San Antonio said on Sunday.

The industry is finding greater impetus to support transgenic wheat now that higher yields and lower costs are desperately needed.

The members also agree that greater support is needed for biotech companies putting up transgenic wheat on the market. For example, Syngenta AG, an agrosciences company researching biotech wheat, has been testing wheat resistant to fusarium disease. However, it has been reluctant to market the product after fierce opposition led rival Monsanto to abort plans to market its herbicide-resistant biotech wheat two years ago.

Syngenta seed brand manager Rob Bruns said Syngenta needed demonstrated support if it was to undertake the costly mission of moving the GM wheat through regulatory hurdles.

To hasten Syngenta's research, wheat industry leaders meeting in San Antonio adopted a joint resolution to support Syngenta's work and to work together to win over food companies and consumers.

The unity demonstrated in San Antonio was worlds apart from the hostility that has plagued the industry for years. The fear in the past was that anti-biotech export customers would boycott US wheat if a genetically modified variety was introduced into the market. Even though that fear remains, industry insiders are saying that production has come to the point where it might be worth the risk. 

US Wheat Associates, which markets wheat for export, approved the joint resolution on Saturday and is preparing to market GM wheat to foreign buyers and canvass support from US food companies.

Wheat leaders are bracing themselves for a busy season as they will be canvassing buyers to accept biotech wheat and setting up systems for separating conventional wheat from transgenic supplies.