May 17, 2004

Cargill Says No Indication Contaminated Soybeans Were Brazilian

There is no indication that a shipment of soybeans barred by Chinese authorities for containing fungicide was contaminated when it left Brazil, Cargill's Brazilian subsidiary said in a press release late Thursday.
 
China prohibited shipments of Brazilian soybeans from four trading houses, including Cargill, because the cargo was discovered to have been mixed with seeds treated with fungicide.
 
China has embargoed the Bunga Saga vessel with 59,000 metric tons of Brazilian soybeans in Xiamen port since the discovery on April 18.
 
"Up to this moment, there is no indication that the tainted soybeans were loaded into the ship at a Brazilian port," Cargill said.
 
The company went on to say that sanitation inspectors approved the shipment before it left the port of Rio Grande do Sul.
 
On Thursday, the Agriculture Ministry informed Cargill that part of the 30,000 tons of loaded by the company onto the Bunga Saga was rejected by Chinese authorities.
 
China is the principal destination for Brazilian soybean exports, importing 6.1 million tons in 2003.
 
The blacklisted firms are Noble Grain Pte Limited, Cargill Agricola S/A, Irmaos Trevisan S/A-Ind Com, E Agricultura, and Bianchini S/A Industria Comercio E Agricultura.
 
Cargill said it is cooperating with the Agriculture Ministry and with importers to discover how the seeds found their way into the shipment.
 
Brazil is the world's largest exporter of soybeans and their by-products.