November 3, 2010
 

China blocks US corn cargo over GMO

China's quarantine bureau confirmed Tuesday (Nov 2) that it had discovered traces of an unapproved genetically modified organism (GMO) in a US corn cargo and had refused its entry into China.

 

"A genetically-modified element which is not approved by the Agriculture Ministry has been identified in the cargo and according to the relevant State Council regulation, the cargo will be returned," said an official with the Shenzhen Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, confirming an earlier report.

 

The official declined to identify the buyer of the cargo, but said the unapproved GMO strain was MON89034.

 

The GMO corn strain, developed by Monsanto Company, does not have a safety certificate for imports from China's Agriculture Ministry, analysts said.

 

The strain was not included in Monsanto's list of GMO products which have been approved for imports into China, according to sources.

 

One trading manager at a feed mill in Guangdong said the cargo belonged to COFCO Co Ltd, which bought on behalf of several feed mills in the province.

 

The cargo arrived at the port of Chiwan in September and was discharged into silos at ports, but feed mills were not allowed to take the goods, said the manager, who is one of the end-users.

 

China, the world's second-largest consumer, has booked the largest volume of US corn in a decade after tight supply drove up domestic prices higher than US prices in the first half of the year.

 

The official said the cargo was most likely resold to the overseas market. COFCO bought the cargo from a Japanese trading house, Mitsubishi Corp, three trading sources said.

 

"The rejection could cause potential risks for buyers and sellers in future, but anyway, there will be no more cargoes for the rest of the year," said an industry analyst.

 

"But the industry is wondering why the rejection affected the last cargo. Previous cargoes may have had the same problem."

 

Chinese buyers have not booked any cargoes over recent months because the price of US corn reaching the Asian nation rose above domestic prices as China's crop was harvested.