May 3, 2007

 

Ethanol sector warns new corn trait could hurt exports

 

 

Industry players from the ethanol sector warns the new rootworm control trait in corn which could end up in animal feed shipments can dent the exporters' relationship with its foreign markets.

 

Being heavily disputed is the GM variety Agrisure Rootworm (RW) produced by Minnesota-based Syngenta Seeds Inc which the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), a leading industry group, said the trait has not been approved for export markets but is already being sold to Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

 

The association said the trait could end up in exported distillers' grains, a byproduct of ethanol production which is being fed to livestock.

 

In a letter sent to Syngenta executives on April 27, association President and CEO Bob Dinneen said there is a "risk that the shipment would be rejected by the importing customer -- permanently damaging the US ethanol industry's relationships with these important markets,"

 

He urged that Syngenta should "ensure this product stays out of unapproved market channels" by educating customers of marketing issues and removing dry mill ethanol facilities -- where distillers grains are produced -- from its lists of points of sale for grain containing the trait.

 

Syngenta's global head of corn and soybeans, Jeff Cox, said farmers won't be able to cope up with the ethanol and livestock demand without products like Agrisure RW.

 

Syngenta spokeswoman Anne Burt said the company's programme for managing Agrisure RW is in accordance with the views expressed by the RFA.

 

Burt said they have clearly told growers that only ethanol facilities that do not export their byproducts should use grain from Agrisure RW.

 

She added they are already undertaking a strict monitoring programme to ensure that all Agrisure RW must be maintained under domestic manufacturing.

 

Last year, 10 percent out of the 12 million metric tonnes of distillers grains produced in the US were shipped out to exports. Most of the products contain introductory quantities of Agrisure RW.

 

The Iowa Corn Growers Association has also weighed in on the issue. It sent out a news release last month about Agrisure RW, pointing out that it lacks approval in major export markets including Japan and Mexico.